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FOOD FOR PLANTS 

HARRIS AND MYERS 

3// 



:2^ 
New Edition 

With Supplementary Notes 
19 5 




EDITED AND PUBLISHED BY 

William S. Myers, f. c. s., Director 

Nitrate of Soda Propaganda 

Late of New Jersey State Agricultural College 

12-16 JOHN STREET 

NEW YORK 



i OV>f,ER5) 
RESS k 
... Lfi. M 



By transfer 
24 ia .307 






FOOD FOR PLANTS. 



In part from the writings of Joseph Harris, M. Sc. 



Nitrate is a powerful plant tonic and energizer; it is 
not a stimulant in any sense of the word; a very small 
quantity does a very large amount of work. 

We never recommend the use of Nitrate of Soda alone, 
except at the rate of not more than one hundred (loo) pounds 
to the acre, when it may be used without other fertilizers. 
The phosphate, lime and potash manures should usuallv 
he applied in connection with Nitrate of Soda at the rate of 
about two hundred and fifty (250) pounds to the acre of each. 
This rate will be found generally profitable for all crops. 
Nitrate is best applied as a Top-dressing in the spring as 
soon as vegetation begins to sprout. It will be found quite 
satisfactory also in its after effect in perceptibly sweetening 
sour land. 

It is w^ell known that animals, and especially young 
animals, must have all the food they can p^^^ Necessary 
eat in order to properly develop and grow . Plants 
fat. This is equally true of plants. Plants 
will manage to live on very little food, but to grow, thri\e 
and bear fruit they likewise require an abundance of food. 

The food of plants consists of a number of elements, 
including Nitrates, phosphates, lime and potash. A suffi- 
cient quantity of all these necessary elements, except Nitrates, 
phosphates and potash, exists in nearly all soils. Nitrates 
/ire nearly always deficient, phosphates usually, and potash 
often. In some soils there may be enough of all the elements 
of plant food except one. This may be assumed to be 
Nitrate. In this case the growth and yield .^ ^. 

of the crop will be limited only by the . ^ ,. , , 

r^r- ■ • 1 T-1 IS indispensable 

quantity or JN itrate it can assimilate, l here 

might be an abundant supply of all the other elements. 



Food for l)iif plants can never use other kinds of food without Nitrate. 

Plants Plants must have them all to develop in perfection. 

4 ^. , Nitrate (Nitrogen) is the kind that is nearly 

, ., always deficient. The question that pre- 

Nearly Always ■ ^r ^ c j j r • 

„ . sents Itself to the tarmer, gardener and truit 

grower is, How can I supply my plants with 

Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, in the best forms and 

at the least expensed We will try to throw some light upon 

this question in the following pages. We will take first, 

.„, , . A .J There are three principal sources of phos- 
Phosphoric Acid. , . . , 11 j 1 

phone acid, namely, bones and rock 

phosphate and Thomas Slag Phosphate. Of these, the 
rock phosphate is the cheapest source. A prevailing im- 
pression exists that superphosphate made from rock phos- 
phate is not as good as that made from bones. It has been 
shown by many experiments that this idea is entirely with- 
out foundation. What the plants want is available phos- 
phoric acid, and it makes little or no difference from what 
source it is derived. 

The largest deposits of rock phosphates exist in South 
Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. These beds of phosphate 
are supposed to be composed of the petrified bones and 
excrements of extinct animals. When this substance is 
ground and mixed with a sufficient quantity of sulphuric 
acid, the larger part of the phosphoric acid which it contains 
becomes soluble in water, and hence available as plant 
food. This fact was one of the greatest agricultural dis- 
coveries of the age. 

When the rock phosphate is thus treated with sulphuric 
acid, it becomes what is commercially known as superphos- 
phate, or acid phosphate. The same is true if ground bone 
is treated in the same way. Good superphosphate contains 
14 per cent, of soluble phosphoric acid. 

The cheapest sources of potash are muriate 
Potashes. ^^ potash and unleached wood ashes, which 

contain from 3 to 5 per cent, of potash in the form of car- 
bonate. They also contain from i to 2h per cent, of phos- 
phoric acid. They are worth, usually, as plant food, from 
^7.00 to $11.00 per ton. 

Nitrate is the most important and effective 
Nitrate. element of plant food, and at the same time, 

as stated, is the one that is generally deficient in the soil. 



There are a great many sources of Nitrogen, such as ^^^^ *or 

dried fish, cotton-seed meal, dried blood, and tankage. But ."^ 

none of these furnish Nitrogen in the Nitrate form in which 5 
it is taken up by plants. This can only be furnished to 
plants in the form of Nitrate of Soda. Nitrogen applied in 
any other form must be first converted into Nitrate before it 
can be used by plants at all. 

Nitrate of Soda contains the Nitrogen that is necessary 
for the growth of plants. Nitrate of Soda is the best form 
in which to furnish Nitrogen to plants. When we say the 
best form we mean the best practical form. Nitrate of 
Soda not only furnishes Nitrogen in its most available form, 
but it furnishes it at a lower price than any other source. 
Nitrate of Soda is found in vast quantities 
in Chili. Thebedsof Nitrate, or "Caliche," ^ ^' 

as it is called in Chili before it is refined, are several thousand 
feet above the sea, on a desert plain extending for seventy- 
five miles north and south, and about twenty miles wide, in a 
rainless region. The surface of the desert is covered with 
earth or rock, called "costra," which varies from three to ten 
or more feet in thickness. Under this is found the "Caliche," 
or crude Nitrate. The layer of " Caliche " is sometimes eight 
or ten feet thick, but averages about three feet. This 
"Caliche "contains on the average about 50 per cent, of pure 
Nitrate of Soda. 

The "Caliche" is refined by boiling in water to dissolve 
the Nitrate. The hot water is then run off and allowed to 
cool in tanks, when the Nitrate forms in crystals like com- 
mon salt. The Nitrate is then placed in bags of about two 
hundred pounds each and shipped to all parts of the world. 
Nitrate of Soda, as exported, contains about 15.65 per cent, 
of Nitrogen, equivalent to 19.00 per cent, of ammonia. 
How these beds of Nitrate were formed has been the sub- 
ject of much speculation. The generally accepted theory 
is, that they were formed by the gradual decomposition 
and natural manurial fermentation of marine animal and 
vegetable matter, which contains a considerable amount of 
Nitrogen. 

The same wise Providence that stored up the coal in the 
mountains of Pennsylvania to furnish fuel for the people of 
the United States when their supply of wood has become 
exhausted, preserved this vast quantity of Nitrate of Soda 



Food for iri the rainless region of Chili, to be used by the people to 
Plants f\ji-j^ig]-| their crops with the necessary Nitrate when the 
^ natural supply in the soil has become deficient. 

By "complete fertilizers," we mean fertiliz- 

Lomp e e ^^^ containing Nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

Fertilizers" and ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ fertilizers are called 

"Phosphates" the <« i ^ i ,, j i i r n 

„ ^ . phosphates, and people have lallen mto 

JtLOSL JC/Xt}cIlSlVC 111* Pli' 'i(''i 

T,, . T^ J the habit oi calhng any commercial rertil- 

Plant Food. . ^^ , i ^5, -^i i 

izer a phosphate, whether it contains 

phosphate or not. Many so-called "complete fertilizers" 
are merely low grade acid phosphates with insignificant 
amounts of the other essential plant foods. They are un- 
profitable and ill balanced rations for all crops. 

Bearing in mind that all that is of any value in these 
" phosphates," no matter how high sounding their names, is 
usually mostly phosphoric acid and potash,\&t us see what they 
are really worth— that is, what the same amount of plant 
food can be bought for in just as good, if not better, forms. 

The New Jersey Experiment Station analyzed 195 dif- 
ferent samples of brands of "Complete Fertilizers," and 
published the results in a Bulletin. It was found that, in 
some instances, complete fertilizers that sold for $34.00 to 
;$36.oo per ton only contained plant food worth $15.00 to 
$17.00. But they were not all as bad as this. The average 
of all brands analyzed was as follows: They contained 2.74 
per cent. Nitrogen, 7.70 per cent, available phosphoric acid, 
and 4.50 per cent, potash. The selling price was $34.23 per 
ton and the actual agricultural value $25.66 per ton. By 
this is meant that the same amount of actual plant food that 
is contained in the "complete fertilizers," costing $34.23, 
could be purchased in the open market, in just as good forms, 
for $25.66. As a matter of fact, it could be purchased for 
much less than this in quantities often tons or more. In one 
ton of the above "average fertilizer," selling for $34. 23, there is 
154 pounds available phosphoric acid, which can be bought for 
53 cents per pound in superphosphate or "acid phosphate," 
as it is called by the trade. This 154 pounds of phosphoric 
acid is therefore worth $8.09. There is 54^ pounds Nitro- 
gen, which can be bought in Nitrate of Soda for 15 cents 
per pound, making it worth $8.22; 90 pounds potash, worth 
4^ cents per pound, equals $4.05, making in all $20.36 for 
the plant food contained in a ton costing $34.23. 



VIEWS OF CHILEAN NITRATE WORKS. 



Food for 
Plants 




Opening up Trench After Blasting, Showing Extraction of Caliche 
by Piece Work. 




1 , ^ V 




Loading Caliche into Railway 1 rucks. 



Food for gut this does not tell the whole story. The Nitrogen 

^°^^ contained in these "complete fertilizers" is often in a form 

8 that is neither available nor useful to the plants until it has 

become converted into Nitrate. The time required to do this 
varies from a few days to a few years, according to the tem- 
perature of the soil and the kind and condition of the 
material used. In calculating the value of complete fertil- 
izers, Nitrogen in the form of sulphate of ammonia, which 
has to be converted into Nitrate before it is available, is 
reckoned at two cents per pound higher than it can be 
bought in the form of Nitrate of Soda. This is not because 
the Nitrogen in sulphate of ammonia is any better than in 
Nitrate of Soda, but because it costs more in the market. 
This makes the fertilizers appear to be worth more than they 
really are. But taking the figures as they are given, it is 
readily seen that the consumer of these "complete fertilizers" 
pays on the average $8.57 per ton more than would buy the 
same amount of food in as good, and, in the case of Nitrogen, 
the most expensive form of plant foods, better in unmixed 
chemicals. 

Statistics gathered by the Station show that over one 
and a half million dollars is spent annually in the State of 
New Jersey alone, for "complete fertilizers." Considering 
that the average "complete fertilizer" costs 25 per cent, more 
than it is worth, it is evident that the farmers of New Jersey 
alone paid ^375,000 more for their fertilizers than they got 
value in return. And this state of things is not confined 
to New Jersey. It is the same all over the country. The 
farmers of this country are paying out millions of dollars 
annually to the manufacturers of "complete fertilizers," 
which they could very easily save by the exercise of a little 
care and foresight. 

Would you not think a man very unwise 

who should buy somebody's "Complete 

oney on Prepared Food," at a high price, when he 

er 1 izers. wanted feed for his horses, instead of going 

into the market and buying corn, oats and hay, at market 

prices } 

The "Complete Prepared Food" would probably be 
composed of corn, oats and hay mixed together, and the 
price would be, perhaps, twice as much as the corn, oats and 
hay would cost separately. It is the same with plant food. 



VIEWS OF CHILEAN NITRATE WORKS. 



Top of Caliche Hopper: Carts Tipping Caliche. 



Food for 
Plants 





•Elevators from Crushers to Boiling-Tanks. 



Plants 



Food for j^Qjf should buy your plant food in the best and cheapest forms ^ 
and feed it to the plants as they require it. You can buy avail- 
able Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda for about 15 cents per 
pound. In so-called "complete fertilizers," Nitrogen costs 
from 20 to 30 cents per pound, and even then only part of it 
is likely to be available. Nitrate of Soda is the cheapest and 
best form in which to buy Availabh' Nitrogen. 

One would not think of buying raw, unground phosphate 
rock for phosphatic plant food; why, then, should one ever 
consider seriously buying the most expensive plant food, viz. : 
Nitrogen in the raw and indigestible forms, which many- 
manufacturers and dealers endeavor to foist on our farmers. 

You can buy available phosphoric acid in superphos- 
phate of lime, made from rock phosphate or bone-black, for 
about 5 to 6 cents per pound (the superphosphate costing 
from ^15.00 to $17.00 per ton, retail). Peruvian guano and 
Thomas slag also are excellent sources of phosphoric acid. 

Potash can be bought, in muriate of potash, for about 
4I cents per pound. 

Let us see what a ''High Grade Complete Fertilizer" 
made from these three sources of plant food would cost. 

600 pounds Nitrate of Soda, containing 93 pounds Nitrogen, costs. .514. 88 
1,100 pounds superphosphate, containing 150 pounds phosphoric 

acid, costs 7-25 

300 pounds sulphate of potash, containing 150 pounds potash, costs. . 6.75 

2,000 pounds, or one ton, costs $2% . 88 



This fertilizer would contain Nitrogen, 5 percent, (equal 
to over 6 per cent, of ammonia), phosphoric acid, 7! per 
cent., and potash, 7! per cent. 

A "complete fertilizer," containing as high a percentage 
of Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash as the above mix- 
ture, would cost at least $35.00, and nine manufacturers 
out of ten would charge $45.00 for it; and even then the 
Nitrogen would probably not be in a form in which it would 
be of much use as plant food until after the harvest. 

If a fertilizer is wanted that has as much unavailable 
Nitrogen as the majority of the so-called "complete fertiliz- 
ers" sold for $29.00 per ton, it could be made for about 
$22.00 per ton. // only unavailable Nitrogen is all that is 
required by all means plow under a cover crop, and buy only 
a straight acid phosphate as such. 



VIEWS OF CHILEAN NITRATE WORKS 



Food for 
Plants 




Automatic Push-plate Conveyor for Conveying Calu he from Top of 
Elevators to Deposit over Boiling- lank. 





Crystallizing Pans — Full, Filling, and Empty. 



Are the Fanners of Little Europe More Intelligent 
Than Those of America ? 

It certainly seems so. The English and European 
farmers instead of buying their Nitrogen in complete fertilizers 
and paying over 20 cents per pound for it, use annually over 
eight hundred thousand (800,000) tons of Nitrate of Soda 
as a fertilizer, while yet only a few^ thousand American 
farmers are using it. 

American farmers, gardeners and fruit growers are sup- 
posed to be ready to "catch on" to a good thing. And 
as soon as our Agricultural Papers let them know the facts in 
regard to the great value of Nitrate of Soda as a Fertilizer our 
farmers will not be slow to use it. The reason why so little 
is said about Nitrate of Soda is simply owing to the fact that 
there is "no money in it for the trade." It is an article that 
everybody can sell, and consequently no one can afford to 
advertise it. The manufacturers of so-called ^'complete fertil- 
izers" pay the agricultural papers large sums of money every 
year for advertising, and consequently the editors do not like 
to publish anything that might injure this trade. The real 
friends of agriculture, however, will be pleased to know 
that there is a decided increase in the demand for Nitrate 
of Soda in this country. As soon as the farmers demand it, 
the importers and dealers in fertilizers will be glad to keep 
the Nitrate for sale, and sooner or later will advertise it. 
In the meantime, if your agricultural paper does not tell you 
about Nitrate of Soda and how to use it, take a paper that 
keeps up with the science and practice of the age. 

^, „ ^ Some interesting experiments were con- 

The Best Form j . j ^ ^u t? j tt • -^ a • 1 
ducted at the rurdue University Agricul- 

^ ^ tural Experimental Station, at Lafayette, 

^ Indiana, to determine the best form of 

Nitrogen for wheat. We quote the results of the experiments 

from Bulletin No. 36: 

"The forms of Nitrogen selected were Nitrate of Soda, azotine or dried 
blood, and sulphate of ammonia. The main object was a comparison of 
Nitrate of Soda with dried blood, and the sulphate of ammonia was intro- 
duced into the series for comparative purposes. The forms of Nitrogen used 
in nearly all commercial fertilizers are dried blood and the Nitrogen of organic 
compounds like bone meal or cotton-seed meal. 

"It is well established that Nitrate of Soda is superior to sulphate of 
ammonia for wheat, but comparatively little seems to be known of the relative 



VIEWS OF CHILEAN NITRATE WORKS. 




Food for 
Plants 

13 



Crystallizing Pans After Running off Mother-liquor, Showing 
Deposit of Nitrate Crystals. 




Drying-Floors and Bagging of Nitrate. 



Food for merits of Nitrate of Soda and organic Nitrogen. The present price of 
^ants ammonia salts is such that they are not generally used in compounding ferti- 
le lizers, and it so happens that the Nitrogen of organic compounds is used 
in the so-called 'ammoniated' fertilizers. 

"Nitrate of Soda gave by far the best results, the gam being nearly 
double that for the organic Nitrogen, and about one-half more than that 
for the ammonia compounds. 

V Nitrate of Soda seems to be the controlling factor, so far as the 
appearance of the plants indicated. The plants on the plots that had re- 
ceived Nitrate were about six inches taller than on those receiving no Nitrate, 
and this continued until the grain was ripe. 

"l. The experiment confirms the superiority of Nitrate of Soda over 
ammonia salts for wheat, and indicates that its superiority over organic 
Nitrogen is even greater than that over ammonia salts. 

"2. A given sum of money will buy more Nitrogen in the form of Nitrate 
•of Soda than in any other form except cotton-seed, yet the gam from Nitrate 
^f Soda IS nearly double that from the use of organic Nitrogen." 

Professor Atwater, in writing of some experiments made 
by Professor McBride, at the South CaroHna Agricultural 
Experiment Station, on Oats and Wheat, says: 

"A comparison of four of the tests conducted on both farms indicates 
that the inorganic Nitrogen (Nitrate of Soda) gave nearly loo per cent, more 
increase of yield than the organic (cotton-seed meal, dried blood, etc.), and 
nearly 50 per cent, more than both forms used together." 

__ ^ . , Dr'ill in with the wheat in the fall a mixture 

How to Apply ^ 1 r 1 1 J 

Nitrate of Soda ^^ ^5° POunds of phosphate and 50 

Wh t pounds Nitrate of hoda per acre. It your 

land is sandy, add 50 pounds of sulphate 
of potash to the above. Early in the spring, sow broad- 
cast 100 pounds Nitrate of Soda per acre. 

Land sown to Wheat in the fall and seeded down with 
timothy and clover giving a heavy crop, followed by a heavy 
hay crop the following year, proved the beneficial aftereffect 
of the Nitrate; that the Nitrate had not leached away as so 
many critics claim, and also, that the soil had not been 
exhausted. 

Professor Massey writes in regard to the effect of Nitrate 
of Soda on Wheat, as follows : 

"I have made several experiments with Nitrate of Soda. The first was on 
wheat in Albemarle County, Va. I used 200 pounds per acre on part of 
the field which had been fertilized with 400 pounds acid phosphate in the fall. 
The result was 9 bushels per acre more than on the rest of the field, and a 
stand of clover, while none of any account stood on the rest of the field." 



Two hundred pounds of ammonia salts contain as ^^°^ ^°^ 
^ . . Plants 



much Nitrogen as the 275 pounds Njtrate of Soda, but the 

Nitate produces nearly four bushels more barley per acre. 

It is evident that barley must have Nitrate and that it is 

more effective than any Sulphate of Ammonia, dried blood or 

eotton-seed meal. 

We would recommend drilling in with the Barley or 

Oats a mixture of 250 pounds Peruvian Barlev 

euano and 100 pounds Nitrate of Soda j r» i. 

J r L 1 J • J ^°d Uats. 

per acre, and if the land is very sandy 

add 100 pounds sulphate of potash to the mixture. 



NITRATE TEST 

At Kentucky Experiment Station. 

BULLETIN 99. 

The Oats in this experiment were sown in April and 
harvested in July. Plot No. i was one acre in area; the 
others were one-half acre each. 

No fertilizer, yield, 27.5 bushels. 
160 Nitrate of Soda, yield, 37.1 bushels. 
A Private ?>xperimenter obtained results as below: 

1. 400 pounds superphosphate and 300 pounds sul- 

phate of potash 245 bushels per acre. 

2. Same as plot i with the addition of 200 pounds of 

Nitrate of Soda ;^48 bushels per acre. 

It is evident from the fact that the addition of 200 
pounds of Nitrate of Soda produced 103 bushels more than 
the superphosphate and potash alone, that potatoes must 
iiave Nitrogen, and that in greater quantities than is sup- 
plied by the ordinary so-called "Complete Potato Manure." 

The New Jersey Experiment Station made some exper- 
iments in Gloucester County, and the following table shows 
the results: 



15 



i6 



Experiments with Fertilizers on Sweet Potatoes. 

Kind of fertilizer and Cost of Bushels per acre, 

quantity per acre. fertilizer. Large. Small. Total, 

1. No manure 157 51 208 

2. 320 lbs. bone-black, 160 lbs. muriate 

of potash $7 -l^ 205 36 241 

3. 200 lbs. Nitrate of Soda, 320 lbs. 

bone-black, 160 lbs. muriate of 

potash 12.34 270 58 328 

4. 20 tons stable manure 30.00 263 61 324 

It will be seen that the addition of Nitrate of Soda to 
the bone-black and potash gave an increase of 65 bushels 
per acre, and that the Nitrate, bone-black and potash, 
together costing ^12.34, produced a little larger yield than 
20 tons of manure, costing $30.00. 

"Another point of considerable importance, since it has reference to the 
salability of the potatoes, was noticed at the time of digging, viz.: That 
those grown with chemical manures alone were bright and smooth of skin, 
while at least one-third of those grown with barn-yard manure were rough 
and partially covered with scurf." 

At the Kentucky Experiment Station, experiments were 
made with fertilizers on Burley Tobacco. The land was 
Tobacco "deficient in natural drainage," so that the 

fertilizers could hardly be expected to have 
their full effect. Yet, as will be seen by the following table, 
the profits from the use of the fertilizers were enormous: 



Experiments on Tobacco at the Kentucky 

Experiment Station. ,, , . 

Value of 

Yield of tobacco — pounds. tobacco 

Fertilizer per acre. Bright. Red. Lugs. Tips. Trash.Total. per acre. 

1. No manure 200 360 60 540 1160 $67.20 

2. 160 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. . . 230 450 310 90 530 1610 138.40 

3. 160 lbs. sulp. of potash; 160 

lbs. Nitrate of Soda ... . 190 755 605 120 140 1810 190.45 

4. 320 lbs. superphosphate; 160 

lbs. sulp. of potash; 160 

lbs. Nitrate of Soda ... . 310 810 420 10 360 2000 201.20 

The tobacco was assorted by an expert and the prices 
given as follows: Bright and red, fifteen cents per pound; 




Nitrate of Soda 



lugs, six cents per pound; tips, eight cents per pound; 
trash, two cents per pound. 

One hundred and sixty pounds Nitrate of Soda 
costing about $3.75, increased the value of the 
crop $'ji.20 per acre! 

We recommend for tobacco a mixture of 
200 pounds Nitrate of Soda, 300 pounds super- 
phosphate and 200 pounds sulphate of potash 
per acre. This mixture would cost about 
^28.00 per ton and would contain over 6 
per cent, of Nitrogen (equal to nearly 8 per 
cent, of ammonia). This is nearly twice as 
much Nitrogen as would be obtained in a 
"complete fertilizer" or "special tobacco 
manure," costing ^35.00 per ton. 

Milkmen, who sell milk in our cities, 
know the great inconvenience and loss °^ orage rops. 
arising from a failure of green fodder from drouth. 

It is now known that the Nitrogen in organic matter of 
soil or manure is slowly converted into the Nitrate form by 
a minute organism. This cannot grow if the soil be too cold, 
or too wet, or too dry, or in a sour soil. As a general rule, 
soils must be kept sweet and the other conditions necessary 
for the conversion of the Nitrogen into the Nitrate form are 
warm weather and a moist soil in good physical condition. 

In the early spring the soil is too wet and too cold for 
the change to take place. We must wait for warm weather. 
But the gardener does not want to wait. He makes his 
profits largely on his early crops. Guided only by experi- 
ence and tradition, he fills his land with manure, and even 
then he gets only a moderate crop the first year. He puts 
on 75 tons more manure the next year, and gets a better 
crop. And he may continue putting on manure till the soil 
is as rich in Nitrogen as the manure itself, and even then 
he must keep on manuring or he fails to get a good early 
crop. Why .^ The Nitrogen of the soil, or of roots of 
plants, or dung, is retained in the soil in a comparatively 
inert condition. There is little or no loss. But when it 
is slowly converted into Nitrate during warm weather, the 
plants take it up and grow rapidly. 

How, then, is the market gardener to get the Nitrate 
absolutely necessary for the growth of his early plants .? He 



Food for 
Plants 

17 



i8 



Food for jyj^y gg(- it^ as before stated, from an excessive and continuous 
_ use of stable manure, but even then he fails to get it in 
sufficient quantity. 

One thousand pounds of Nitrate of Soda will furnish 
more Nitrogen to the plants early in the spring than the 
gardener can get from lOO tons of well-rotted stable manure. 
The stable manure may help furnish Nitrate for his later 
crops, but for his early crops the gardener who fails to use 
Nitrate of Soda is blind to his own interests. 

It has been found by experiments made at 
Tomatoes. ^j^^ ^^^ Jersey Experiment Station for 

a period of three years, that Nitrate of Soda, applied when 
the plants are set out, greatly increased their growth early in 
the season and produced a much larger crop of early ripe 
fruit than either barn-yard manure, "phosphates," or no 
manure at all. 



Experiments with Fertilizers on Tomatoes. 

Yield per 
Kind of fertilizer used and quantity per Cost of acre in Value ot 

acre. fertilizer. bushels. crop. 

1. No manure 613 ;^2o8.f)i 

2. 160 lbs. Nitrate of Soda $+.00 838 300. ^>+ 

3. 160 lbs. muriate of potash, 320 lbs. 

bone-black 7.20 6+9 252. i;2 

4. t6o lbs. Nitrate of Soda, 160 lbs. 

muriate of potash, 300 lbs. bone- 
black 11.20 867 301 -5 

5. 20 tons barn-yard manure 30.00 612 218.27 

It will be noticed that 160 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, 
costing 154.00, made an increase in the value of the crop ol 
1^92.03 per acre over the unfertilized land, and $82.37 ^'^^^ 
the land where 20 tons of barn-yard manure, costing $30.00, 
was used. It will also be noticed that the addition of phos- 
phate (bone-black) and potash had little or no effect. This 
does not indicate that tomatoes do not require phosphoric 
acid and potash, but that enough of these elements of plant 
food was already in the soil. 

"The yield of early tomatoes was very decidedly increased by the use 
of Nitrate of Soda, both alone and together with phosphoric acid and potash." 



Professor W. W. Massey, of the North CaroHna F^xperi- ^°°^^ ^°^ 
ment Station, writes as follows: 



"In the spring of 1888 I top-dressed an old strawberry bed, in its fifth 
year of bearing, with 300 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre. I had intended 
to plow it up the previous summer, but other matters prevented, and the bed 
was in an exhausted condition and rather foul with white clover and sorrel. 
The effect was amazing, for this bed of an acre and a quarter, from which 
1 expected hardly anything, gave me 7,000 quarts of berries : Variety 
Crescent with fertilizing rows of Wilson, Sharpless and others. The crop 
was nearly as large as the best plot had made." 

Enormous profits may be derived from 
I r r ^-r Asparagus, 

the proper use or fertilizers on asparagus. ^ *= 

If the rent, labor, etc., for a crop of asparagus is ^200 
per acre, and the crop is three tons of green shoots at $100 per 
tou, on the farm, the profit is $100 per acre. If we get six 
tons at ^100 per ton, the profit, less the extra cost of labor 
and manure, is $400 per acre. 

In such crops as asparagus, however, doubling the yield 
by the use of Nitrate of Soda does not tell half the story. 

Asparagus is sold by the bunch, weighing about 2^ 
pounds. The prices range, according to earliness and 
quality, from 10 cents to 25 cents per bunch at wholesale, 
or from ^80 to ^200 per ton. 

By leaving out all these considerations and assuming 
that the non-Nitrated a'sparagus yields three tons per acre 
and sells for ;^ioo per ton, and that the Nitrated asparagus 
yields six tons per acre and sells for ^200 per ton, the profits 
of the two crops, less the extra cost for labor and manure, 
are as follows: 

Without Nitrate of Soda $ 100 per acre. 

With Nitrate of Soda 1,000 per acre. 

The first thing to do is to prepare the How to Mix and 
fertilizers, and if they are all to be used at ^ppjy Nitrate of 
the same time rnix them together. g^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ 

Nitrate of Soda comes from South fertilizers 
America in 224-pound bags, and is usually 
thus sold. The Nitrate looks much like coarse salt. The 
lumps should be broken, which can easily be done by turning 
the Nitrate out on the barn floor and breaking with the 
back of a spade. The Nitrate should then be run through 
a sieve with a mesh not larger than one-fourth inch. It will 
then be ready for use. 



Plants 

19 



Potash Salts come from Germany in bags weighing 224 
pounds each. When lumpy they should be broken as above 
directed. If the fertilizers are to be mixed together, pour 
the right quantity of each in a pile on the floor and turn them 
over two or three times with a shovel until they are thor- 
oughly mixed. It is a good plan to run the whole through 
a sieve, which will completely mix the fertilizers. The mix- 
ing should not be done more than a week before the fertilizers 
are to be used, as the mixture may attract moisture and get 
hard if left too long after mixing. In Europe small hand 




One Hundred Bushels of Ears of Corn per Acre. 
Before Harvesting. 

machines are used by farmers for grinding and mixing, and 
cost about twenty-five dollars. It is also in use in America. 
Potatoes ^^ ^" rows marked only one way, scatter 

How to Apply. ^ mixture of, say, 200 pounds Nitrate, 
350 pounds superphosphate and 100 pounds 
sulphate of potash along the rows, a handful to every step. 
If in thus walking you step three feet, this will put on about 
600 pounds per acre; if only two feet, 900 pounds per acre. 
Run a fine tooth cultivator along the rows to mix the fertil- 
izers with the soil. It will, of course, be necessary to mark 
out the rows again before planting the potatoes. If planted 
n hills marked both ways, drop a handful on each hill and 
mix well with a hoe. 

Apply the same mixture as recommended for potatoes 




Food for 
Plants 




30 Bushels of Ears per Acre. 
Fertilized with 10 Tons of 
Stable Manure and 
200 Pounds fine- 
ground Bone. 



100 Bushels of Ears per Acre. 
Fertilized with 200 Pounds Nitrate, 200 
Pounds Sulphate of Potash, 1,000 
Pounds Thomas Phosphate 
Powder. 



Food for arid in the same way. It usually will not pay to use more 
*°*^ than one ounce, or about one-half handful to a hill. 
'' Corn, Cabbages For growing cabbages and cauliflower 

„ A n^.,^:4i ,„^ SOW broadcast the same mixture as recom- 

and Cauliflower. . n u jr i 

mended tor potatoes, usmg a small handful 

to each square yard of ground, and rake or harrow it in 

before sowing the seed. 

For early cabbage set close together; it will pay to sow 
the fertilizers broadcast over the whole ground and work 
them in before setting out the plants. // the land has been 
heavily manured for a number of years Nitrate of Soda alone 
may do as much good as the mixture. In this case, the 
Nitrate may be used after the plants are set out — a tea- 
spoonful to a plant. 

For late cabbage, set 2I to 3 feet apart each way. It 
is a good plan to apply the fertilizers after the plants are 
set out. To do this, scatter a small handful of the mixture 
recommended for potatoes near, but not on, each plant. 
Cultivate this in with a small tooth cultivator. It is best 
to go twice on each row, dropping the fertilizer on both 
sides of the plants, using half the quantity on each side. 
Phosphate should be worked into the 
^* land intended for growing celery plants, 

either the fall before or in the spring, before the seed is sown, 
at the rate of 500 pounds per acre. As soon as the plants 
come up, sow broadcast 500 pounds Nitrate of Soda per 
acre, or a small handful to each square yard. If heavy rains 
occur. It IS well to give the plants another application of 
Nitrate. This need not be as heavy as the first application- 
Market For garden crops such as beets, carrots. 
Garden Crops. parsnips, onions, spinach, lettuce, etc., sow 
the mixture as recommended for potatoes, broadcast before 
the seed is sown, at the rate of from 500 to 1,000 pounds 
per acre, according to the richness of the land. When the 
land has been heavily manured for a number of years, it 
may not be necessary to use so much Phosphate and 
potash. Nitrate of Soda alone on such_ land often has a 
wonderful effect. 

^ , . In setting out a new bed, scatter along the 

Strawberries. j 1 • • 1 r 1 1 

rows and cultivate in, before the plants are 

set out, the same mixture as for potatoes. It is well to 



scatter the fertilizers for a foot on each 
side of the rows so that the runners will 
have something to feed upon. In the 
spring sow Nitrate of Soda on the hed 




Food for 
Plants 

23 



broadcast at the rate of 
about 200 pounds per 
acre. On old beds so\a 
the mixture broadcast 
in the fall and an ad- 
ditional 200 pounds of 
Nitrate per acre in the spring. 

Sow broadcast, in the fall, a mixture of, Raspberries, 

say, 350 pounds of superphosphate and 100 Currants, 

pounds muriate of potash per acre. This Gooseberries, 

can "be done, if the rows are six feet apart, 
by sowing a large handful at every two steps on each side of 
the row. Raspberries and Gooseberries should have a small 
handful, and currants a large handful to each bush. This 
should be cultivated in, if possible, early in the spring. Sow 
Nitrate of Soda in the same way. It will pay to put on as 
much Nitrate as you did superphosphate and potash, but 
if you do not want to put on so much, use smaller handtuls. 
If the superphosphate and potash have not been applied 
in the fall, sow the mixture in the spring at the same time the 
Nitrate is sown and cultivate it in, early. 

Since Nitrate of Soda and muriate of pot- How and 
ash are brought to this country by sea, and Where to Buy 
phosphate is usually transported from the Fertilizing 
mines in vessels, all these materials, as a rule. Materials. 
^an be purchased at the seaports cheaper 
than in the interior. New York is the lartrest market for 
these materials, but Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, 
Mobile, New Orleans and San Francisco are also ports 
of entr\-. 

Lower prices can be obtained by bu\'ing fertilizing 
materials in car-load lots. A car-load is not less than ten 
tons. // you cannot use a car-load yourself, get your neighbors 
i'j pin with you. From $2.00 to 1^4.00 per ton can often be 
saved in this way. 

In buying Phosphates always consider the percentage 
of available phosphoric acid. You should not pay more than 
5 cents per pound for the phosphoric acid. That is, if the 



Food for superphosphate analyzes 14 per cent, of available phosphoric 
*^ acid, a ton would contain 280 pounds, and should not cost 
24 more than ^14.00 per ton. Thomas Phosphate Powder is 
also an important Phosphatic Plant Food. 

The various "brands" of fertilizers are composed, for 
the most part, of substances such as plaster, fillers, super- 
phosphate, etc., which can be manufactured for much less 
than the prices charged for these substances in so-called 
"complete fertilizers." 



Fertilizers for 
Potatoes 



Special Crops. 

The land is first marked and a furrower 
PP y g j-^jp, along the rows, making a furrow about 

four mches deep. In this furrow the fertil- 
izer is applied, either by hand, or with a 
distributor, and well mixed with the soil. This is best done 
by running a cultivator along the row; or when a distributor 
is used, an attachment in the form of a small cultivator can 
be made to do the work at one operation. The potatoes 
are then dropped in the furrow and covered. If it is thought 
best to cultivate both ways, the land can be marked across 
the furrows after the fertilizer is applied. 

On What Crops Theoretically, a given quantity of Nitrate 
Nitrate Should "^^^ Produce a given amount of plant 

V TT ^ substance. A ton of Wheat, Straw and 

be Used. . . ' 

grain together contain about 1,500 pounds 

of dry matter, of which 25 pounds is Nitrogen. To produce 

a ton of wheat and straw together would require, therefore, 

170 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, in which quantity there is 

25 pounds of Nitrogen. 

A ton of cabbage, on the other hand, contains about 4^ 
pounds of Nitrogen. To produce a ton of cabbage, there- 
fore, would require 28 pounds of Nitrate of Soda. 

The most important money crops are beets, carrots, 
cabbage, cauliflower, celery, onions, tomatoes, potatoes and 
other vegetables and fruits. The most profitable are tobacco, 
grain, cotton, grass and alfalfa. 

There are no crops on which it is more profitable to use 
fertilizers than on vegetables and small fruits, provided they 



are used rightly. Many failures with chemical fertilizers are Food for 

caused by lack of knowledge. Stable manure, when used in _^!! 

sufficient quantities, almost invariably pro- Fertilizers for ^^ 

duces good results, while the unintelligent Vegetables and 
use of chemical fertilizers does not do as Small Fruits 
well. In this way many gardeners are 
persuaded that there is nothing equal to stable manure, 
which they continue to use in large quantities, paying in 
many cases fully twice as much for it as the plant food it 
contains is worth. There is no doubt but that stable 
manure is valuable as a fertilizer, and in many cases is indis- 
pensable, but at the same time the quantities necessary to 
produce good results could be greatly reduced by using 
chemical fertilizers to supply plant food and only enough 
manure to give lightness and add humus to the soil. 

For crops like cabbage and beets, that . _ 

• . , • Ti , r r^ A ! •. What Fertilizers 

It is desirable to force to rapid maturity, 

the kind of the plant food, especially of , ^ 
Nitrogen, is of the greatest importance. ^ 

Many fertilizers sold for this purpose have all the Nitrogen 
they contain in insoluble and unavailable form, so that it 
requires a considerable time for the plants to get it. Another 
fault is that they do not contain nearly enough Nitrogen. 
Stable manure contains on the average in one ton, lo 
pounds Nitrogen, lo pounds potash, and only 5 pounds 
phosphoric acid, while the average "complete" fertilizer 
contains more than twice as much phosphoric acid as Nitro- 
gen, a most unnatural and unprofitable ration. A fertilizer 
for quick-growing vegetables should contain as much Nitro- 
gen as phosphoric acid, and at least half this Nitrogen 
should be in the form of Nitrate, which is the only 
ammoniate immediately available as plant food. 

The best fertilizer is a mixture of 200 
pounds of Nitrate of Soda and 350 pounds ^^f^' ^"'°"^ 
phosphate. A small quantity of sulphate p , 
of potash should be added when the land 
is sandy. 

In applying fertilizers it should be remem- 
bered that any form of phosphoric acid, ^""^ *° ^PP^^ 
such as acid phosphate, dissolved bone- ospnatic 

black, bone meal or Thomas Phosphate Fertilizers. 
Powder is only partially soluble, and will not circulate in 



Food for the soil. These fertilizers should therefore be evenly dis- 

^ants i-j-ibm-gfj Qyej- ^YiQ sqJI ^j^j ^gjl mixed with it. This is 

2^ usually best done by applying broadcast before sowing the 

seed and before the ground is thoroughly prepared. In this 

way it gets well mixed with the soil. 

Nitrate of Soda, on the other hand, will diffuse itself 
rapidly and thoroughly throughout the soil wherever there 
is enough moisture to dissolve it. It can therefore either be 
applied with the phosphate before sowing the seed or scat- 
tered on the surface of the ground as soon as the plants 
are up. This latter method,Top-Dressing, is usually the best. 

^ „ , The best way is to scatter the fertilizer for 

For Melons, ^ r ^ j .u u-ii j i \. ■ ^ 

„ , ' , two reet around the hills and rake it into 

Cucumbers and ^ i vu ^ i j i t^u* 

the soil with a steel garden rake. 1 his 

^ ■ not only mixes the fertilizer with the 

soil, but it loosens the ground and kills all small weeds 

that are coming up. 

r.„ 4.- , Some interesting and valuable experi- 

Comparative i i /^ t- 

Availabilitv of ments were made at the Connecticut hx- 

Tvr-x • periment Station, to ascertain how much 

JNitrogen in r i tvt- • i • i • i 

Vario F or the JNitrogen contained in such materials 

as dried blood, tankage, dry fish, and cotton- 
seed meal, is available to plants. 

The experiments were made with corn, and it was found 
that when the same quantity of Nitrogen was applied in the 
various forms the crop increased over that where no Nitrogen 
was applied, as shown in the following table: 

Increase of Crop from Same Quantity of Nitrogen 

from Different Sources. „ i 

Relative 

Sources of Nitrogen. Crop Increase. 

Nitrate of Soda lOO 

Dried Blood 73 

Cotton-seed Meal _. 72 

Dry Fish 70 

Tankage 62 

Linseed Meal 78 

The above table shows some interesting facts. It is 
evident that only about three-fourths as much of the Nitro- 
gen in dried blood or cotton-seed meal as in Nitrate of Soda 
is available the first season. The Nitrogen in tankage is even 
less available, only a little over half being used by the crop. 



These experiments were made with corn, which grows for ^°°^ ^°^ 
a long period when the ground is warm and the conditions _ 

most favorable to render the Nitrogen in organic substances ^~ 
available and yet only part of it could be used by the crop. 

When it is considered that Nitrogen in the form of 
Nitrate of Soda can be bought for less per pound than in 
almost any other form, the advantage and economy of pur- 
chasing and using this form is very apparent. 

It is always more economical to buy the 

different fertilizing materials and mix them "^^^^ Fertilizers 

• to "Riiv 
at home than to purchase "complete" ferti- •'' 

lizers as they are often called. Some do not wish to take pains 
to get good materials and mix them, and prefer to purchase 
the "complete" fertilizers. If this be done, special attention 
should be given to ascertaining in what form the Nitrogen 
or ^'ammonia" exists. Many of the manufacturers do not 
tell this, but the Experiment Stations analyze all the fertiliz- 
ers sold in their respective States and publish the results in 
bulletins, which are sent free to any one asking for them. 
These analyses should show in what form the Nitrogen is. 
The '^complete fertilizers" that contain the most Nitrogen 
or ^'ammonia" in the form of Nitrate are the ones to use, and 
the ones which do not contain Nitrate or which do not give 
information of this vital point should not he purchased. If 
you have on hand a "complete fertilizer" containing a small 
percentage of Nitrogen or ammonia, and only in organic 
form, such as cotton-seed, "tankage," etc., it will be of great 
advantage to use lOO pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda in 
addition to this fertilizer. This is often an economical and 
convenient method of buying fertilizers. 

The Alabama Agricultural Experiment Fertilizing 

Station at Auburn, Alabama, has made Cotton, 

some interesting experiments in fertilizing 
Cotton. Experiments were conducted in many different 
parts of the State and on various kinds of soil. 

It was noticed that in nearly every case 96 pounds 
Nitrate of Soda, when used with acid phosphate, gave a 
better yield than 240 pounds cotton-seed meal when used 
with the same quantity of acid phosphate. The 240 pounds 
of cotton-seed meal contained more Nitrogen than 96 pounds 
of Nitrate, and cost more than the Nitrate, yet did not give, 
as a rule, as good results. As a rule, potash did not pay,. 



2S 



Food for except on sandy land. While the "no fertilizer" acre 
^^^^^^ gave only a small yield, the best results were obtained from 
the combination of Nitrate, phosphate and potash, but 
where the land was fairly good, the potash did not seem to 
be necessary. 

Cotton-seed meal has been an economical source of Nitro- 
gen, but it tends to make the soil sour, stale and mouldy. Its 
use should never exclude the use of Nitrate Nitrogen, /. e.. 
Nitrate of Soda, at the rate of lOO pounds to the acre. 

Make two bales of cotton on the same land with the same 
labor which now makes one. Nitrate of Soda fed to grow- 
ing crops at the right time repays its cost many times over. 

Experiments with Fertilizers on Cotton. 

NITRATE. NITRATE 



Locality and Character of Soil. 



Barbour Co., Sandy Loam . . . . 

Elmore Co., Gray Sand 

Elowah Co., Red Loam 

Greene Co., Sandy 

Clay Co., Soil Red 

Calhoun Co., Mulatto Soil . . . . 
Lawrence Co., Clay Loam . . . . 
Cullman Co., Sand and Gravel 

Madison Co., Clay Loam 

Randolph Co., Sandy Loam . . 

Butler Co., Light Sand 

Marengo Co., Dark Sand 



£ 


3. 


ra 

CO -S 




z 


B 


-Q J 


^s 




1 


<D 
0> S 


° §• 


Yield 

per Acre. 

Lbs. 


Yield, 

per Acre, 

Lbs. 


Yield, 

per Acre, 

Lbs. 


Yield 

per Acre. 

Lbs. 


624 


672 


I216 


768 


469 


736 


1088 


960 


240 


616 


1000 


720 


104 


512 


960 


1056 


389 


480 


800 


704 


171 


480 


640 


624 


235 


600 


864 


688 


347 


928 


1080 


1096 


312 


448 


800 


544 


288 


384 


752 


544 


200 


640 


744 


760 


648 


816 


936 


784 



c«-5- 



Yield 

per Acre 

Lbs. 



1020 

1088 
952 

1256 
848 
816 
904 

1 120 
800 

544 
800 
968 



At least a half of the Nitrogen applied should be in the 
form of Nitrate of Soda. The reason for this is that all the 
Nitrogen in the cotton-seed meal is not immediately avail- 
able. It only becomes so after undergoing the process of 
soil Nitration. If there is no Nitrate present, the plant 
must wait until the Nitrogen in the cotton-seed meal becomes 
nitrated, which, in cool, damp soil takes a considerable time. 
Thus the plant, in its most critical stage, is held back and 
checked in its growth, from which it never fully recovers. 



On the other hand, if a small quantity of Nitrate is used, the ^^od for 

plant can take it up at once and get a good strong start by the ^" ^^ 

time the cotton-seed meal is converted into the Nitrate form, 29 
the only form that can be used by the plant. 



Experiments with Nitrate on Cotton. 
South Carolina, 1904. 



POUNDS OF THE FOIvI^OWING MATERIA!, TO THE ACRE. 


Plot. 


Peru 


Acid 


Kainit. 


C. S. 


Nit. 


Nitrate 


Mur. 


MANUFACTUR ED 

Fertilizer. 


Pounds 
Seed-Cot- 




Guano 


Phos. 


Meal. 


Soda. 


Potash. 


Pot. 






ton to the 


















4-8-4. 


2j^-8-2 


Acre. 


0000 


100 


200 


200 


300 


200 










1740 Ih.s. 


cx;o 


100 


200 


200 


300 


100 






1 


IIIO " 


00 


200 


400 


400 


600 












; 1 140 " 





• TOO 


200 


200 


300 




100 








960 ' ' 


I 




















450 '• 


2 




200 
















450 " 


3 






200 














450 " 


4 








200 












540 " 


5 










100 










600 " 


6 












100 








750 " 


7 




















300 " 


8 














100 






390 " 


9 


200 


















540 " 


10 
















200 




540 " 


11 


















200 


540 " 


12 




200 


200 


300 












! 720 " 


13 




200 




300 






100 






810 " 


14 




















,330 " 


15 




200 


200 




100 










960 " 


16 




200 


200 


300 


100 










1 mo '• 


17 




200 


200 


300 


50 










i 870 •■ 


18 




200 




300 


100 




66 






1 1050 " 


19 




300 




300 


100 




100 






1 140 " 


20 




300 








200 








1020 " 


21 




















i 450 •• 


22 




350 




200 




200 








1290 " 


23 




350 




300 




150 








1350 '• 


24 


100 


200 


200 


300 












780 " 


25 


200 


200 


200 


300 












960 " 


26 
















400 




930 " 


27 




300 




3CO 




100 








1170 " 


28 














1 






540 " 


29 


500 


















840 " 


30 


100 


200 


200 


300 












900 " 


31 i 


J 00 


20.) 


200 


300 ■ 












810 " 


32 


100 


200 


200 


3c;0 












930 " 


33 


100 


200 


200 


300 












780 " 


34 


600 


















960 " 


35 




350 




200 




250 








1230 " 


36 




















480 ' 


Bal- 






















ance of i 
Faim j 


100 1 


200 


200 


300 


80 










1250 " 



30 



Food for yhg above is a copy of a series of experiments conducted 
Plants j^y £ g gj^j^j^^ £g^^ ^f Centenery, S. C. Mr. Smith 
explains the low average production of the 36 experimental 
plots, 777 lbs., as compared with 1250 lbs. average for the 
balance of the farm, first by the fact that in many instances 
no fertilizer or much less than the regular formula for the 
balance of the farm was used, and also says: "The low 
average production of the experimental plots as compared 
with the rest of the farm may also be accounted for by the 
differences in time of preparation and planting, and the 
coming up of the crop, which was slow on account of the 
drought, after planting." In experiment No. 30 Peterkin 
seed was used, in No. 31 Black seed, in No. 32 Cook's 
Improved, and in No. 33 Mr. Smith used his own cotton-seed. 




The Cotton Bolls on the Nitrate Plot were better developed and larger, and 

opened better. They did not shed as much during the rainy season. 

There were also many more bolls on the Nitrate Plot. 



Cotton and Fiber Plants. 

Cotton is profitably grown on nearly all kinds of soil, 
but does best perhaps on a strong, sandy loam. On light 



uplands the yield is light, but with a fair proportion of lint; ^ood for 
on heavy bottom lands the growth may be heavy, but the ,^^ ^ 
proportion of lint to the whole plant very much reduced. 3^ 

The preparation of the soil must be even and thorough; 
light soils should be plowed to a depth of six inches, heavy 
soils about eight inches. The rows should be four feet 
apart; on very rich soils the hills may be made twelve inches 
apart, but on the light soils common to cotton sections 
twenty-four inches is a better space between plants. About 
one bushel of seed per acre is the usual allowance. 

The plant-food needs of cotton are shown by the plant 
food actually contained in the whole crop, as follows: 

Ammonia 

(Nitrogen). Phos. Acid. Potash. 
Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 

Lint,. 300 .87 .18 2.22 

Seed 654 24 . 30 6 . 66 7 . 63 

Bolls 404 5-45 i-H 12.20 

Leaves 575 16.76 2.57 6.57 

Stems 658 6 . 26 1.22 7 . 74 

Roots 250 1.96 .38 2.75 

2,841 55.60 12.15 39.11 

Many fertilizer formulas have been recommended, and 
by all kinds of authority, and green manuring is widely 
advised as a means of getting a supply of cheap ammonia; 
but, with this crop especially, cheap ammoniates are very 
dear. The cotton plant should have stored up all the food 
it needs by the ist or 15th of August; jroin this time on 
growth should he checked that the plant may develop the 
formation of seed and lint. If, on the contrary, plant food 
is still supplied late in the season, new growth is the result, 
and in consequence a lessened production of lint and seed. 
The lower grade ammoniates, such as cotton-seed meal, green 
manuring, tankage, and dried blood, continue to supply 
available Nitrogen until checked by cold tueather, hence 
these forms of ammoniates are not desirable for the most 
economical production of cotton. In order to supply the 
necessary plant food for the earlier stages of growth, so much 
of these low grade ammoniates must be used that injury from 
lack of ripening is almost sure to occur. 

The most rational way of fertilizing cotton is to apply 
the phosphoric acid and potash with the seed, or just before 



Food for seeding. As soon as the plants are well above ground, top 

. ^^ dress along the rows with lOO pounds of Nitrate of Soda 

32 per acre, and work well in with the cultivator. This fur- 
nishes the cotton plant with precisely the Best Form of 
Ammoniate, viz., Nitrated Ammonia, for rapid growth, and 
does not continue to push the plant long after new growth 
should have ceased. 

A good formula for a Cotton fertilizer, per acre, is-: 

Cotton-seed meal 100 lbs. 

Phosphate (14 per cent.) 500 " 

Muriate of Potash 100 " 

One hundred pounds more of Nitrate of Soda should 
be used as a top-dressing four weeks after planting. 

Successful results have been obtained by using Nitrate 
alone, either at the time of planting, at the ratio of 100 
pounds to the acre, or a spoonful of this salt placed around 
and near each cotton bush later, mixing it thoroughly with 
the dry soil. Avoid placing the Nitrate on the plant or in 
contact with it. 

For Hemp, lOO pounds per acre may be applied as a 
top-dressing at the time of planting. 

For Flax, 100 pounds Nitrate per acre may be applied 
as a top-dressing at the time of planting. Apply, also, 
about 250 pounds of muriate of potash at the time of plant- 
ing in both cases, with 250 pounds superphosphate. The 
above ingredients may be mixed and put on in one 
application. 

Fruits. 

The following table shows the amount of Nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid and potash removed from an acre of ground 
by an average crop of the fruits named: 

Nitrogen. Phosphoric Potash 
lbs. Acid. lbs. lbs. 

• Grapes, crop of 10,000 lbs 17 15 50 

Prunes, crop of 30,000 lbs 45 . 16 80 

Apricots, crop of 30,000 lbs 69 21 84 

It will be noticed that while a crop of prunes takes 
practically no more phosphoric acid from the soil than a 
crop of grapes, yet the amount of Nitrogen removed is 
nearly three times as much, and in the case of apricots over 



four times as much as required by grapes. It is evident ^°°^ ^^^ 
1 r r 1 Ml • 11 J Plants 
that a few crops or plums or apricots will materially reduce 

the amount of Nitrogen in the soil, which is usually deficient 33 

to start with and therefore this element of plant food must 

be replenished or the fruit will soon deteriorate in size. 

"Time to apply should be when fruit is half grown, and cultivate in to get 
the Nitrate mixed with the moist soil." 

Unless it is known that there is sufficient Ouantities 
phosphoric acid and potash in the soils, Required and 
superphosphate or bone meal, and if r^.^^^ ^^ Apply, 
necessary to furnish sulphate of potash, 
wood ashes, apply early in the winter or early spring. 
Two or three pounds of bone dust and one pound sulphate 
of potash or ten pounds unleached wood ashes per tree 
would be about the right quantities. The Nitrate of Soda 
should be applied after the fruit is set at the rate of two to 
three pounds per tree. It is important that the fertilizers 
should be well mixed with the soil, and that they be applied 
not close to the trunks of the trees, but considerably further 
out than the branches reach. 

After investigating the requirements of Figs, 

the fig, Professor George E. Colby, of the 
University of California Experiment Station, says: 

"The Fig leads among our fruits in its demand upon the soil for Nitrogen. 
Thus we find for the southern localities especially, the same necessity of early 
replacement o( Nitrogen in figs and stone fruit as for Orange orchards, and 
partly for the same reason, viz., that California soils are usually not rich in 
their natural supply of this substance." 

Nitrate of Soda will furnish the necessary Nitrogen in 
its most available form, and at less cost than any other 
material. It will probably be best to use in addition to the 
Nitrate an equal quantity of bone meal phosphate, say two 
pounds of each per tree, applied as recommended for plums 
and apricots. 



Profitable Onion Cultivation. 

There is no crop that can be grown so Adaptability of 
successfully on a large scale, on such a the Onion to 
variety of soil and climate, and that will all Soils, 
respond more profitably to intelligent cultivation and fer- 



Food for tilizing, than the onion. Ihe American tanner has usually 
Plants i^ggj^ willing to leave the growing of this savory vegetable 
34 almost entirely to the enterprising foreign immigrant, who 
often makes more net profit at the end of the season from 
his five acres of onions than the general farmer makes on 
one hundred acres. The weeder and the improved wheel-hoe 
have made it comparatively easy to care for the crop; there 
is no reason why the progressive farmer who is looking 
about for a New Money Crop should not raise onions 
with ease and profit. 

We shall consider here the growing of onions only as a 
field crop for the fall and winter market. The onion can be 
successfully grown anywhere in the United States where 
other vegetables thrive. 

The reason that onions ha\e not been more generally 
grown by farmers is owing to the mistaken idea that it is 
impossible to grow them without the application of vast 
quantities of stable manure, but Onion-growing with the 
aid of chemical fertilizers is not only much cheaper, but the 
average crop is much larger. The excessive quantity of 
stable manure required to grow a maximum crop tends to 
make the land too open, when the great secret of onion 
culture is to get the land solidified. The ploughing under of 
so much bulky manure also tends to cut off the moisture 
supply from below, which is so important in the quick 
growth of crops of this nature and which can only be 
obtained by having the soil very compact and in fine tilth 
so as to promote the capillary movement of the soil moisture 
to the surface, where it may be retained for the use ot 
the crop by means of frequent and shallow cultivation. 

The advantage of using Nitrate of Soda instead of stable 
manure as the source of Nitrogen for this crop is plainly 
evident, as the Nitrate supplies the most beneficial ingre- 
dient contained in the stable manure (Nitrogen), and in a 
form in which it is not dependent upon soil bacteria and 
weather conditions to make it available for the young 
plants when they need it most. If it be necessary to add 
humus to the soil in the form of stable manure it should, 
if possible, be applied a year in advance. 

Considering the fact that Nitrogen is the element most 
frequently lacking in our soils, and knowing that the onion 
responds most liberall}- to a plentiful feeding of ammoniate 



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Food for 
Plants 

36 



Food for fertilizers, it should have a hberal supply of that element 

P'j^ Character of ^" ^^^ ^^^^ possible form, viz.: Nitrate of 

^^ Plant Food Re- Soda We know that if a young pig or 
« .:^^A u„ 4.u« calf does not have an abundance of the 

quired by the • i i • j r r j i • • 

Q • right icind of food when it is young it 

becomes stunted in growth and never re- 
covers from it, no matter how judiciously it is afterwards 
fed. The intelligent cultivator has learned that the same 



fc>^ 



rule holds good in the feeding of plants ; hence the great 
importance of an immediately available supply very early 
in the season just as the plant is starting growth, and at 
which time it can only be obtained from an application of 
Nitrate of Soda, since the Nitrogen in other ammoniates 
does not become available until after the soil itself has 
warmed up to summer temperature. 

The presence of Nitrate at the outset enables the plant 
to start off" with a good healthy root growth, whereby it is 
better able to take up later the other and more complex 
food elements. 

If it cost ^45.00 per acre for rent, ploughing, harrowing, 
seeding, weeding and cultivating to produce a crop of onions 
ready to harvest, then 

The crop of 225 bushels per acre costs 20 cts. per bushel. 
The crop of 450 bushels per acre costs 10 cts. per bushel. 
The crop of 900 bushels per acre costs 5 cts. per bushel. 

The latter yield is not at all unusual when the crop is 
properly fed with Nitrate of Soda and supplementary chem- 
ical fertilizers. 

In the first place, the onion, contrary to the general belief, 
does not require any special kind of soil, such as muck, 
black sand, etc., but will do well on any good corn or 
potato soil, provided it is not too sour or so stony as to inter- 
fere with the early and frequent cultivation of the crop. 

Even though a field is somewhat stony, it will pay to 
rake the stones into the dead furrows which should be 
about twenty feet apart, as the stones would make it impossi- 
ble to do good work with the weeder and wheel hoe. 

. In selecting your field for onions it is, of 

. ^. course, advisable to choose one that is 

likely to be affected as little as possible in 

the event of a severe drought, and it is for 

this reason that onions, cabbage and those crops that espe- 



cially require large quantities of moisture during their Food for 

growth are usually grown upon bottom lands. ! 

Ploughing for the onion crop should Cultivation ^^ 

preferably be done in the fall to a depth 
of eight inches or more, leaving the soil in the furrow to be 
acted upon by the frost during the winter. It at the same 
time becomes more compact — the onion likes a solid seed 
bed. When for any reason the ploughing has to be done in 
the spring it should be done very early and worked down 
solid. The lands should be narrow, so that the numerous 
dead furrows will drain off excessive surface moisture early in 
the spring, as it is desirable to get the seed sown very early. 

As soon as the condition of the soil will „ „ , , 

•^ • ^1 • -^ 1 ij u 1 J Free Use of the 

permit m the sprmg it should be worked „ 

• -^ ^\, i. 1 • Harrow and 

over with the harrow or pulverizer ^s 

deeply as the ground will allow and rolled 

with a heavy roller, which should be followed at once with 

a light harrow, which will loosen the surface soil and form a 

light mulch to help conserve the moisture. This operation 

should be repeated each week until it is time to sow the seed, 

which is in this latitude when the apple trees begin to bloom. 

The seed should be sown with a hand seed drill about 
three-quarters of an inch deep and in rows about fifteen 
inches apart, using about six pounds of seed per acre. 

In about five days after the seed is sown the field should 
be gone over with the weeder to destroy any weeds that have 
started to germinate near the surface, and again in three or 
four days or before the onions come up. Always run the 
weeder across the rows. 

After the onions are up so that you can see the rows 
cultivate them carefully with the wheel hoe using the sharp 
blades that are made for that purpose and going not more 
than one-half inch deep. 

As soon as any more weeds appear to be germinating 
go over the rows again with the weeder. The weeder may 
appear to be doing some damage, but if handled carefully 
there is no danger, as we have sown an extra pound of seed 
to allow for some being pulled out. 

When the onions are about four inches high it will prob- 
ably be necessary to weed them once by hand. This will 
not prove to be a tedious job if the weeder and wheel hoe 
have been used with good judgment. 



Food for Nitrate should be applied as follows: One hundred 
^^^°^° P ... . pounds scattered broadcast over the held 

38 ^' within a week after the seed is sown and 

before the plants break through the ground, and two more 
applications broadcast consisting of 100 pounds each at 
intervals of two or three weeks, depending somewhat upon 
the appearance of the plants as to growth and color. 

Generally speaking the Nitrate should all 
When to Apply ^^ applied during May and June, though 
JNitrate. -^ ^ drought occurs in July, and the onions 

show signs of turning yellow at the tips, an ^xtra dressing 
of 50 pounds per acre may be applied to advantage. In a 
wet season avoid putting it on late, as it might aggravate 
the tendency to produce a considerable number of scullions. 
It should only be applied when the plants are dry. 

The onion is an alkali-loving plant, and, 
use 01 v^ora- ^-j^^ asparagus, seems to have a peculiar 

mon Salt. fondness for salt. The results of experi- 

ments on widely different soils show that it nearly always 
responds profitably to an application of about 200 pounds 
of salt per acre. This guides us to the choice of kainit for 
this crop, as that product contains about 35 per cent, of 
chloride of soda or common salt, which also aids in con- 
serving the moisture in the soil. Good judgment must be 
used, however, as the kainit might have a harmful effect in a 
wet season on a low and naturally damp soil. 

About 400 pounds of kainit per acre should be used, as 
a rule. It should be drilled into the entire surface of the 
ground early in the spring to a depth of at least three inches, 
for the kainit becomes fixed in the soil very quickly and 
should be rather deep, so as not to attract the feeding 
roots too near the surface. In case wood ashes or muriate 
of potash are used the time of making the application 
should be the same. Most vegetables will give greatly 
increased returns from the use of chemicals if lime is 
employed in conjunction with them. 

An application of 75 bushels per acre of ground quick- 
lime has also proved preventive of onion smut. 

TT £ rru In regard to the best source from which 
Use of Thomas , °- , , 1 • • 1 r 

c - , to obtain the phosphoric acid for our onions 

Slag and of . . , . , ^ ^ . jjii 

J. It is plain that we must be guided by the 

character of the soil. For instance, if it is 



a strong, deep soil, rich in humus, with an excessive quantity ^°o<^ ^°^ 
of organic matter and acid, it is deficient in lime. On muck ^° ^ 
and acid soils basic slag if very finely ground seems to give 39 
better results with most crops than acid phosphate. This 
is due to the fact that the basic slag contains from 40 to 50 
per cent, of lime, which is necessary to neutrahze the excess 
of acids present which are detrimental to plant growth. 

If the soil is a medium heavy clay upland and not acid 
it is best to use the acid phosphate which contains, besides 
the phosphoric acid, about 50 per cent, of calcium sulphate 
(gypsum). This unlocks the natural potash in the soil. 

The quantity of either to apply on ordinary soils is 1,000 
pounds per acre very early in the spring, so that in fitting the 
ground it will become very thoroughly incorporated with the 
soil before the onion seed is sown. 

The following table gives the actual field results of six 
years' experiments with fertilizers and seven years with 
manures at the rate of 30 tons per acre: 

Manure. Chemicals. 

Tons per acre, average 8.90 14.02 

Market vfl/u^ /)^r fon, average 5i8.i6 $20.52 

The crop grown with chemical fertilizers was 5.12 tons 
greater per acre, or a gain over the stable manure of nearly 
58 per cent.; while the Nitrate crop averaged ^2.36 greater 
market value per ton, an advance over the manure-grown 
crop of 13 per cent. 



Stable Manure and Artificial Fertilizer 
Upon Fruit Trees. 

In this country the manuring or fertilizing of fruit 
plantations is very commonly neglected, but in Europe 
fruit trees are as regularly treated with plant food as staple 
crops. According to the investigations of Professor Barth- 
Colmar and Dr. Steglich, Dresden, the wood, foliage and 
fruit of apple, pear, cherry and bush fruits consume yearly 
per square yard of surface shaded by the tree or bush, 219 
grains of Nitrogen, 65 grains of phosphoric acid, and 284 



Food for grains of actual potash; equivalent to fertilizer chemicals 

__l^^^ as follows: 

4° Nitrate of Soda, per square yard 3.5 ounces 

Acid Phosphate, per square yard 1.5 " 

Muriate Potash, per square yard 1.5 " 

Amount of Ra- ^^^7,^ ^" high-priced land, garden crops 
tion of Plant '^°"^^ "°^ ^^ g^.°T„ ^" orchards, but 

Food for One where this custom is followed the quantity 

^ of plant food should be increased to suit 

the needs of the additional crop to be 
grown. For fruit alone apply between the fall of the leaf 
and the bursting of the buds, per square yard of surface 
shaded by the tree, the quantities of plant food shown above 
to be the actual needs of the crop. If the trees have made 
a weak growth the previous season, or have heavily fruited, 
apply between May and July about one ounce of Nitrate 
of Soda per square yard of surface; this in addition to the 
previously applied plant food. 

The practical effect of artificial manures for fruit cannot 
be denied, not only for quantity, but also for the quality of 
the crop. Stable manures seem to fail of regular bountiful 
results, probably because the stable manure supplies its 
ammonia in the Nitrated form very irregularly, and fruit 
trees can use ammonia plant food only in the Nitrated form. 
Practical figures showing the profitableness of artificial 
manures, fertilizers, have been shown by many experiments, 
particularly by those conducted at Feldbrunnen, near 
Osterode, Germany. 

The rational fertilization of fruit trees depends somewhat 
upon their period of growth; young trees need ample sup- 
plies of Nitrated ammonia and potash to develop and ripen 
new wood. Later, at the bearing age, phosphoric acid and 
Nitrated ammonia are required for the formation of fruiting 
buds. These two phases in the making of an orchard should 
have due consideration and plant food used accordingly. 

Apples. Cherries. Plums. 

Unfertilized 100 lbs. 100 lbs. 100 lbs. 

Fertilized 3,42o lbs. 218 lbs. 329 lbs. 

Asparagus. 

The soil should be sandy, or a light loam. As the crop 
remains in position for many years, the land should be 



selected with that fact in mind. The soil must be kept very ^°°<^ ^^^ 

clean and mellow. Stable manure is very objectionable on 

account of its weed seeds. It is only by a quick, even 4i 
growth that large, crisp stalks can be produced, and there 
must be no check through a scanty supply of plant food. 
In the spring, as soon as the ground can be worked, clear 
off the rows and loosen up the soil, and apply broadcast 
along the rows a top-dressing of Nitrate of Soda, from 200 to 
300 pounds. With this crop, the full application of Nitrate 
can be made at one time. 



Market Gardening with Nitrate. 

The following is the result of a practical 

study of conditions on a large truck farm, ^^^ ^ ^^ ^° 

near New York. In every case the opera- " ayorab e 

tions of the farm were carried out on a rowing ea- 

^ • ^1 1 • 1 • nru 1 • son with Low 

strictly busmess basis. 1 he soil is a . 

heavy clay with a rather intractable clay ^^^ces or 

subsoil, decidedly not a soil naturally suited ^^ ^^ ^' 

to growing garden crops. The weather was unfavorable, 

including the most severe drought in thirty years; from 

March 22d to July 8th practically no rain fell. Owing to 

the unfavorable season, the grade of garden products was 

low causing a low ruling in prices. Details by crops follow: 

Asparagus. 

The bed was twenty years old, and had been neglected. 
As soon as workable, it was disc-harrowed, and later smooth- 
harrowed with an Acme harrow. Nitrate of Soda was 
applied to the three test plots April loth, 200 pounds per 
acre, sown directly over the rows and well worked into the 
soil. A second application of 100 pounds per acre was 
made to plot i April 24th; and, on the 29th, a third applica- 
tion of equal amount. 

The experiment comprised three plots, two fertilized 
with Nitrate of Soda, and one without Nitrate, plot 3. 
Plots I and 2, treated with the Nitrate, produced marketable 
stalks ten days in advance of plot 3, a very material advan- 



42 



Food for tage in obtaining the high prices of an early market. The 
results were as follows, in bunches per acre : 

Plot and Fertilizer. Bunches per acre. Gain. 

3. No Nitrate 560 

2. 200 lbs. Nitrate 680 120 

I. 400 lbs. Nitrate 840 280 

The financial results are as follows, prices being those 
actually obtained in the New York Markets: 

Plot I. Plot 2. Plot 3. 

Fertilizer, Nitrate 400 lbs. 200 lbs. 

Gross receipts ;^207.90 $161.50 

Fertilizer cost 8 . 40 4 . 20 

Applying fertilizer 2.00 i.oo 

Net receipts i97-5o 161.50 $112.00 

Nitrate made gain ^5-5° 44-30 ■ — 

The use of 400 pounds of Nitrate of Soda produced on 
plot I a gain of $85.50 on a fertilizer and application cost 
of $10.40; the use of 200 pounds of Nitrate returned a similar 
gain of $44.30 on a fertilizer and application cost of $5.20. 

Snap Beans. 

The Beans were grown for pods, or what is known as 
string beans. Three varieties were experimented with, Chal- 
lenger, Black Wax, and the Red Valentine. Seeds were 
drilled in May loth, in rows two feet apart; on May 22d, 
100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda were applied per acre, and 
on the 27th, another application of 150 pounds was drilled 
in. June 12th, an application of 50 pounds was drilled 

T • along the rows, followed by 100 pounds 

increase in ^ . ^ . * 

r> J T3 i. Tune iQth; in all 400 pounds of Nitrate of 

Crop and Bet- -' ^ ' u ir 1 r 1 1 

^ .. Soda per acre. Hair the held was not 

J. . , treated with Nitrate. In the case of the 

„ c. • Black Wax beans, the Nitrated land gave a 

well as Saving , , . ' ,- , *= 

. ~ crop days m advance ot the part not 

m Time. ^ j -i at- j u 

treated with JNitrate, and the same gain 

was made by the Nitrated Valentine beans. The Black Wax 

beans treated with Nitrate produced 75 per cent, more 

marketable crop than the non-Nitrated portion, and the 

Valentine variety 60 per cent. Taking into consideration 

the enhanced price due to earlier ripening, the average price 

of the Nitrated black wax beans averaged some 60 percent. 



higher than the portion of the field not treated with Nitrate ^""^ ^^r 

of Soda; in hke manner, the increased price of the Valentine _ 

beans was 45 per cent. 

Beets. 



The crop must be forced to quick growth 
in order to obtain tender, crisp vegetables, 
quickly salable and at good prices. Nitrate 
of Soda was compared with unfertilized 
soil, with the result that on the Nitrated 
plots, marketable beets were pulled 56 
days from seeding ; the unfertilized plot 
required 72 days to produce marketable 
vegetables. Nitrate of Soda was applied at the rate of 500 
pounds per acre, in four applications. 



Table Beets 
Grown on 
Nitrate were 
Ready for Mar- 
ket 16 Days 
Ahead of Un- 
fertilized Plots. 



43 




500 lbs. Nitrate of Soda to the acre, in four applications. 



No Nitrate. 



Early Cabbage. 

The cabbage plots were thoroughly worked up, and 

planted to Henderson's Early Spring Variety. Part of the 

soil was treated with Nitrate of Soda at tt /-. 

1 r 1 ■ r How a Crop 

the rate ot ^yc pounds per acre, in hve o j t 

,. . -''-' X . r ' T was Saved from 

applications ranging irom May istto June -,.„.. 

17th. The part of the plot not treated with 

Nitrate of Soda was a total failure, but allowing the same 



Food for number of plants as the fertilized portion, and also allowing 
for difference in price on account of later ripening, the crop 
44 on the portion not treated with Nitrate 

o at pen should have returned a gross amount of 
in Nitrate Re- ^292.50. The Nitrated portion returned 
turned 3b2i.oo gross receipts of ^720, from which deduct- 
in Increased -^^^ ^19.50 for fertilizer and application of 
^^P* same, we have ^700.50 for Nitrate of Soda 
as compared with ^292.50 without Nitrate, a net profit for 
the Nitrate of ^408. That is, for every dollar spent for 
Nitrate of Soda, the crop returned an additional ^21 nearly. 



Cabbage. 

Cabbage requires a deep, mellow soil, and rich in plant 
food. Early maturing cabbage, perhaps the most profitable 
method of growing this vegetable, produces 30,000 pounds 
of vegetable substance to the acre, using about 140 pounds 
of ammonia, 129 pounds of potash, and 33 pounds of phos- 
phoric acid, all as actually assimilated plant food. The crop 
must be fertilized heavily. As the soil is thoroughly fined 
in the spring, there should be incorporated with it by rows 
corresponding to the rows of plants, about 1,500 pounds of 
fertilizer per acre. After the plants have set and have 
rooted, say a week from setting, apply along the rows a top 
dressing of 200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre and work 
into the soil with a fine toothed horse hoe; the soil must be 
kept loose to a depth of at least two inches, and consequently 
there will be no extra labor in working this fertilizer into the 
soil. Some three weeks later incorporate in the same man- 
ner into the soil 300 to 400 pounds of Nitrate of Soda. Soil 
Nitration cannot be depended on under any circumstances 
for supplying enough natural Nitrate for cabbage. Nitrate 
of Soda is the only immediately predigested Nitrated am- 
moniate in the market and is an absolute necessity for early 
cabbage, and should be used liberally. This crop should 
not follow itself more than twice, as by so doing there is no 
little danger of serious disease to the crop. 

Formula for Cabbage per acre: 

Nitrate of Soda 200 lbs. 

Superphosphate 350 " 

Sulphate of Potash 100 " 



Celery. 

Crisp stalks of rich nutty flavor are a matter of rapid, 
unchecked growth, and plant food must be present in 
unstinted quantity, as well as in the most quickly available 
form, the best example of which is Nitrate of Soda. The 
soil was plowed early in May, and subsoiled, thoroughly 
breaking the soil to a depth of lo inches. Thirty bushels 
of slaked lime were broadcasted per acre Extraordinarv 
immediately after plowing, followed by a Returns on 
dressing of 20 tons of stable manure, all Celerv 
well worked into the soil. Plants were set 
May loth. The tract was portioned into three tracts for 
experimental purposes; plot i received 675 pounds of Ni- 
trate of Soda per acre in six applications. May i6th, 22nd, 
June 1st, loth, 17th and 24th. Plot 2 received 475 pounds 
in five applications. May i6th, 22nd, June ist, 17th and 
24th. Plot 3 was not treated with Nitrate of Soda. 

Plot I was ready for market July 6th, and was all ofFi 
by the loth. Plot 2 was ready for market July i ith and was 
all harvested by the 14th. Plot 3 was practically a failure 
and was not harvested. Plot i, being first in the market, 
had the advantage of the best prices; the gross receipts 
were, per acre, ^957.80; from which must be deducted 
^18.67 for Nitrate of Soda and the application of same — a 
net result of ^939.13 per acre. Plot 2 gave a gross return 
of $676.30, from which $13.72 must be deducted for ferti- 
lizer, leaving $662.58 per acre net. Plot i makes therefore 
a gain of $276.55 over plot 2, simply from the earliness in 
maturing, due to the heavy applications of Nitrate, for the 
total crop was approximately the same for both plots. 

Cucumbers. 

Plants were set in box frames May 4th. The frames 
were well filled with rotted manure, and were banked as a 
protection against late frosts. A portion of the field was 
treated with Nitrate of Soda; on May loth each plant was 
given a quart of a solution made by dissolving three pounds 
of Nitrate of Soda in 50 gallons of water. Applications in 
quantity the same were made on the experimental plot May 
i6th, 22nd, 29th, June 3rd, 9th, 15th, 22nd and 26th; 
making a total of 165 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre. 



Food for 
Plants 

45 



Food for Qj^ June 27th the experimental plot was setting fruit rapidly, 

while the plot not Nitrated was just coming to bloom. The 

** Nitrated plot was given on June 29th a quart of a solution 

made by dissolving two ounces of Nitrate of Soda in a gallon 

of water; and this application was repeated July 3rd, 7th, 

15th, 24th, and August 8th. This practically doubled the 

Nitrate application. 

„ . . rr- The first picking on the Nitrated plot 
Gam in Time i t i 1 t^-- ^ , 

. ,, . -, was made uly ist, on the non-Nitrated 
in this Crop 1 t 1 i 1 1 

^ R k P J^v 22nd, when prices were at the 

, , ,j, lowest point. After the early market sea- 

W k ■ Ad ^°" ^^^ over, the vines were treated for 

picklinp; cucumbers, the Nitrated plot re- 
V3.nce. ^ . . ^ . * . 

ceiving 50 pounds of Nitrate of Soda dis- 
solved in water as before; later, two applications of a quart 
each, containing half an ounce per gallon. The result was 
that the vines continued bearing until cut down by frost. 
The estimated yields were as follows: Nitrated plot, per 
acre, 6,739 dozen, plot not Nitrated gave per acre 948 dozen. 



Sweet Com. 

The crop was planted on rather poor soil. Seed was 
planted May 4th, and the cultivators started May 12th. A 
portion of the field was selected for experiment, and on this 
75 pounds of Nitrate of Soda were applied per acre May 
20th, drilled close to the row. A second application of the 
same amount was made May 26th, and on June 5th a third 
application. On June 17th 100 pounds per acre were 
applied and cultivated into the soil. The total Nitrate 
applied to the experimental plot amounted to 325 pounds 
per acre. The Nitrated plot ripened corn 5 days ahead of 
the non-Nitrated portion, and produced gg^ dozen ears 
against 623 dozen from an acre not treated with Nitrate of 
Soda. The Nitrated crop, being earlier in the market, 
brought better prices; the gross return being 1^99.40 per 
acre as compared with 1^62.30 for the non-Nitrated plot. 
The cost of the Nitrate and its application expenses amounted 
to 1^9.75 per acre, leaving a net gain from the use of Nitrate 
of Soda, of 1^27.35 per acre. 



Egg-Plant. 

The plants were set in the usual manner, part of the 
tract being treated with Nitrate of Soda at the rate of 475 
pounds per acre to observe the practical value of the Nitrate 
for forcing. Before setting, the plants were given a light 
application of Nitrate in solution. June ist 150 pounds 
were applied, on the tenth this was repeated, and on June 
22nd a third application was made. The Nitrated plot 
produced marketable fruit July 5th, the non-Nitrated plot did 
not reach the market until July 26th. The Nitrated plot 
produced per acre ^^,8q^ fruits, all of good quality; the non- 
Nitrated plot produced only 8,^12 fruits per acre. 



Food for 
Plants 

47 



* Early Lettuce. 

The plants were started in the hot-house, and pricked 
into cold frames; April 26th they were set in the field. The 
Nitrate applications on the experiment plot were per acre 
as follows: April 29th, 100 pounds; May 4th, 150 pounds; 




750 lbs. Nitrate of Soda to the acre, in 5 applications. 



No Nitrate. 



May 1 2th, 200 pounds; May i8th, 200 pounds; May 23rd, 
100 pounds; a total of 750 pounds per acre. The Nitrated 
plot was first cut May 20th, and at this time the non-Nitrated 
plot was just beginning to curl a few leaves towards the heart 
for heading. Approximately, the Nitrated plot produced 



Food for pgY- acre 1,^2^ do%en heads, and so early to the market that the 
^^^°^^ average wholesale price was 25 cents per dozen; per acre, 
4^ ^431.00. From this we must deduct ;^20. 00 for Nitrate and 
the expense of applying^ same, leaving net %ii.oo. On the 
non-Nitrated plot only about /J. per cent, of the plants headed, 
and these reached the market three weeks late. The financial 
statement shows 48 dozen heads at 10 cents, or a net return 
per acre of ^4.80. That is, without the Nitrate dressing, 
the crop was a failure. 

Onions. 

The soil was in bad condition, and was liberally limed. 
Seeding was completed April 15th, and the plants were rap- 
idly breaking ground by the 28th. The tract was divided 
into three plots; plot i received 675 pounds of Nitrate of 
Soda in six applications at intervals of a week or 10 days; 




675 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda to the 375 lbs. of Nitrate of Soda No Nitrate. 

acre, in 6 applications. to the acre, in 4 

applications. 

plot 2, 375 pounds in four applications; plot 3 was not treated 
with Nitrate. The Nitrated plots seemed least affected by 
the exceptionally dry weather, but the crop on all the plots 
was no doubt reduced by the unfavorable conditions. The 
following table gives the results by plots, computed to an 
acre basis: ivy- ^ tvt- ^ t>.t 

JN urate, JNitrate, JNo 

675 lbs. 375 lbs. Nitrate. 

Total yield 756 bu. 482 bu. 127 bu. 

Per cent, scullions 1.5 1.7 19.0 

Average price per bushel 75 cts. 65 cts. 35 cts. 

Total receipts $567.00 $313.30 $44-50 

Fertilizer cost 20 . 1 7 9-3° 

Total net receipts 54683 304.00 44 50 



The results show very clearly that but for the Nitrate ^o°^ for 

applications, the crop must have been a failure in every ^ ^° ^^ 

respect. 49 

Early Peas 

This crop was planted under same conditions and in 
like manner to the snap beans; 300 pounds of Nitrate of 
Soda were applied per acre, to the experiment plots. Two 
varieties were planted, early and late. The results were: 

Early. Late. 

Nitrate. Nothing. Nitrate. Nothing. 

Date planted April 15. April 15. May i. May i. 

First picking June 8. June 17. June 29. July 4- 

Gain to Market 7 days. 5 days. 

Period of bearing 11 days. 8 days. 10 days. 6 days. 

Crop on first picking. • • 55 p- ct. 40 p. ct. 57 p. ct. 38 p. ct. 

Total yield (p. ct.) 165 100 168 100 

The season was very unfavorable for this crop, yet the 
results show that the Nitrate made a powerful effort to offset 
this disadvantage. The earliness to market in this case 
is as pronounced as in the other garden crops, and is one 
of the most profitable factors in the use of Nitrate of Soda. 
The lengthening of the bearing period is an added advantage. 

Early Potatoes. 

Ploughing was finished the second week in April, and 
limed at the rate of 35 bushels per acre. Furrows were 
opened three feet apart, and 750 pounds per acre of a high- 
grade fertilizer worked into the rows. May 1st the potatoes 
were breaking ground, and 100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda 
were applied per acre on the experiment plot. On the nth 
200 pounds of Nitrate were applied, and on the 29th 150 
pounds more were cultivated in with a horse-hoe. The 
total Nitrate application per acre was 450 pounds. The Ni- 
trated plot was harvested July 6th, and retailed at an average 
price of ^1.60 per bushel; the plot not treated with Nitrate 
was dug July 17th, eleven days later, and the highest price 
obtained was 80 cents per bushel. The Nitrated plot pro- 
duced per acre 19 bushels unmarketable tubers, the non- 
Nitrated plot 46 bushels. The total crop marketable was 
297 bushels for Nitrate, and 92 bushels for non-Nitrated 
plot. Deducting the cost of Nitrate of Soda and the expense 



Food for of applying same, the Nitrated crop was worth ^463.30 per 
^^^°*^ acre, while the non-Nitrated plot returned only j^Gq.oo per 
50 acre. For every dollar expended for Nitrate of Soda, the 
crop increase gave ^30.18 return. 

Late Potatoes. 

Conditions same as in the case of early potatoes, except 
the Nitrate of Soda was used at the rate of 500 pounds per 
acre, in five applications. The crop per acre on the Ni- 
trated plot, marketable tubers, amounted to ^y^ bushels; on 
the non-Nitrated plot the yield amounted to 237 bushels 
marketable tubers. The gain for Nitrate of Soda was 143 
bushels, or nearly 62 per cent, increase. 

Early Tomatoes. 

With this crop the object is to mature quickly, rather than 
obtain a heavy acre yield; one basket of early tomatoes at $I.2J 
is worth more than 75 baskets later in the season, when the 
price is about 8 cents per basket. The plants to be used on 
the Nitrated plot were treated with a diluted solution of 
Nitrate four separate times. Plants were field set May 17th, 
and given six applications of Nitrate of Soda: 1st, 100 
pounds per acre soon after setting out; 2nd, 3rd and 4th 
of 75 pounds each; and 5th and 6th of 50 pounds each— in 
all, about 450 pounds per acre. The results were: 

Nitrate. 

Plants set out in field May 17. 

First picking Jun* 30. 

Days, setting to first picking 43 

Crop at $\ .00 and upward per basket 40 p.c. 

" -75 " " 30 ]] 

" .50 " " 20 " 

" -3° " " 10 " 

" -25 " " 

" 15 " " 

" " .08 " " 



Estimated yield per acre, baskets 500 

Gross receipts ^377 • 5° 

Cost of fertilizer and application 10 -35 

Net receipts 367 . 15 

Gain per acre for Nitrate 176.95 

The indicated gain amounts to a return of 1^17.09 for 
every dollar expended for Nitrate of Soda. 



Nitrate. 


May 

July 

62 


17- 
19. 


10 p. c 




15 " 




20 " 




25 " 




15 " 




15 '■ 

600 




$190 


20 


190 


20 



The experiments detailed in this pamphlet are all on a ^°°^ *°^ 
working basis. In every case the object was to force the ^1^^!!__ 



51 



o 
t 

O 







crop to an early yield, and while the applications of Nitrate 
of Soda seem large and are large in proportion to the actual 



Food for needs of the crops grown, at the same time the nature of 

market- gardening requires free use of immediately available 

^^ plant food, and the results show that such use is very prof- 
itable. Other crops than those enumerated were experi- 
mented with, notably Carrots, Kale, Lima Beans, Melons, 
Rhubarb, Spinach, Strawberries, Endive and Kohl-Rabi. 
While the detail of results is not given, illustrations from 
actual photographs show the increased growth from the use 
of Nitrate of Soda. 



Late Spinach. 




4^ 



350 lbs. Nitrate of Soda to the acre, in 2 applications. 



No Nitrate. 



Cantaloupes, 

A continuous and rapid growth in Cantaloupes is essen- 
tial to earliness and a good crop, and Nitrate of Soda under 
the proper conditions and with proper care, will yield just 
such results. A dressing of Nitrate of Soda alongside the 
rows in cultivating, in addition to the general fertilizer used, 
has been most successful. A general fertilizer may be made 
up as follows: 

Nitrate of Soda 400 lbs. 

Dried Blood or Cotton-Seed Meal 400 lbs. 

Superphosphate, 14 per cent 500 lbs. 

Sulphate of Potash 200 lbs. 



Food for 
Plants 



Hints for Right Use of Nitrate. 

The points to be observed in the use of Nitrate of Soda 33 
are: Avoid an excess; make frequent small applications 
rather than single large ones; avoid wetting the foliage with 
solutions of it; do not sprinkle the wet foliage with dry 
Nitrate; and in general Nitrate must not be allowed to come 
in contact with the stems or leaves of plants. Nitrate of 
Soda is a Nitrated ammoniate, and is immediately available 
as plant food. The fertilizer suggested above may be 
applied at the rate of 1,500 pounds per acre. Subsequent 
applications of Nitrate of Soda may be made at the rate of 
100 pounds per acre at intervals of two or three weeks during 
the growing season. Apply the Nitrate well mixed with 
fine dry soil at the rate of I ounce, to ^ ounce per hill. 
The general fertilizer may be economized somewhat by using 
a handful in each hill rather than by making a general 
application. 



The Medical Record for July had an article on "Typhoid 
Fever from Sources Other than Water Supply," the point of 
which was that infection from the soil was more common 
than most physicians supposed. The germ may he in 
vegetables, in dust blown by the wind, and flies are active 
agents in carrying it about. The writer warns those who 
have the care of the sick never to bury the excreta of 
patients. It is the surest way, he says, of "perpetuating 
the disease in any locality, keeping it alive for years and 
causing it to become epidemic." He observes that "there is 
good evidence that the typhoid bacillus grows to the surface 
in a mixture of soil and fecal matter, like a fungus in a 
hot-bed, so that burial is no protection whatever against its 
spread." Unfortunately, in almost every town or village 
there are physicians who ignorantly insist on burying typhoid 
material in the earth as the best way to dispose of it. 
Chemical fertilizer should always be used by market 
gardeners. 



Food for Always use Chemical Fertilizers for all Market Garden 
_^*' Purposes Without Fail. 



54 



How to Use Chemical Fertilizers 
to Advantage. 

... ^ Crops grow only in consequence of the 

How All Crops r j i j . lu • j- i .11 

food placed at their disposal; practically, 

^' the food plants consist of certain combina- 

tions or mixtures of ammonia, phosphoric acid and potash. 
Not any one, nor any two, but all three. All soils contain 
some of these plant foods, and few soils contain them in very 
large quantities. Fortunately for the permanence of agri- 
culture, nature does not permit these natural supplies to be 
drawn upon freely, and any attempt to overforce the soil 
by injudicious farming is met by a temporary exhaustion. 
The so-called"artificial manures"are simply 
As to e a- chemical or organic substances which cou- 
ture or c emi- ^^-^ ^^^ ^^ more of the three elements of 
cal Manures. ^^^^^ ^^^^ 

The use of Nitrate of Soda is well known 
Nitrate as a ^^ ^ top-dressing for small grains. Wheat 
Top-Dressing ^j^ strong clay will repay an application of 
for Grams, jqq pounds of Nitrate per acre, even if 
Grasses, Root- already heavily manured. 
Crops, Pas- Yot Roots 100 pounds at seed time and 
tures, Soiling jqq pounds after thinning is found profit- 
Crops, ^bie 

The form of ammoniate most active as 
How Nitrate ^j^^^ ^^^^ -^ ^^^ Nitrated form, namely: 

Increases Nitrate of Soda. All other ammoniates 

Wheat Crops. ^^^^ ^^ converted into this form before 
they can be used as food by plants. Sir John Lawes wisely 
remarks: "When we consider that the application of a few 
pounds of ammonia (Nitrogen) in Nitrate of Soda to a soil 
which contains several thousand pounds of ammonia in its 
organic form, is capable of increasing the crop from 14 to 
40, or even 50 bushels of wheat per acre, I think it must be 



apparent to all that we have very convincing evidence of ^^^^ *<*'^ 

value of Nitrate." The ammonia of Nitrate of Soda, Nitrated ^°^ 

ammonia, it may be called for convenience, is immediately 55 

available as plant food, and it should therefore only be 

applied until plants are ready to use it. By such a ready 

supply of available ammoniate plant food, young plants 

are able to establish such a vigor of growth that they can 

much better resist disease, and the attacks of insects and 

parasites. The famous experiments of Lawes and Gilbert 

at Rothamsted have demonstrated that Nitrate Com- 

cereals utilize more than three times as , .., 

1 r 1 TVT- • TVT- r o 1 pared witn 

much of the Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda Farmyard Ma- 

as of the Nitrogen (ammonia) contained 

o \ _ _ / iiur6. 

in farmyard manure; in practice, four and 
one-half tons of farmyard manure supply only as much 
available ammoniate usable plant food as lOO pounds of 
Nitrate of Soda. 

Wheat. 

From lOo to 200 pounds of Nitrate of „,, i. -r. • 

cj LiiLij J Wheat Expen- 

boda per acre should be broadcasted on _ * • t^v 

, '^ . II- ments m Eng- 

wtieat, as soon as the new growth shows in , , 

the spring. The results of such treatment 

are shown by experiments made by three English gentlemen, 

which are tabulated as follows: 

I. No Nitrate, 23 bu. 300 lbs. Nitrate, 33.5 bu. Gain46p.ct. 

II. " 15 " 300 " " 28.0 " " 87 " 

ni. " 34 " 300 " " 49.0 " " 44 " 

Average " 59 
Another illustration is an experiment ^ , . , 

made by the late Dr. Voelcker; 672 pounds lyr 1 r d 

of cotton-seed meal were used in compari- .., ,T-i. i. 

. , J r AT- r o J with Nitrate, 

son with 275 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, 

with the result that the latter gave a return of 46.75 bushels 

per acre, a gain over the cotton-seed meal of nearly 2^ per 

cent.y the above enormous application of cotton-seed meal 

yielding but 37.7 bushels per acre. 

Oats. 

An authenticated experiment made by Mr. P. Dickson, 
of Barnhill, Laurencekirk, N. B., gave a return from the 
use of 112 pounds of Nitrate of Soda of 64 bushels per acre, 



Food for while the soil without Nitrate gave a crop of only 36 bushels. 
^°^^ Top-dressings for oats should average 100 pounds to the acre. 
56 It should always be applied some ten days after the young 

plants have broken ground. 

Barley. 

In an experiment at Woburn, made for the Royal Agri- 
cultural Society of England, by the late Dr. Voelcker, the 
following results were obtained: 

Mineral manures and sulphate ammonia 36-75 bushels per acre. 

Nitrate 275 lbs. and minerals 42.50 bushels per acre. 

Gain for Nitrate, 16 per cent. 

The ammonia salt and the Nitrate used contained the 
same amount of ammoniate plant food. Compared with 
cotton-seed meal, 124 pounds of Nitrate of Soda gave 49.5 
bushels barley per acre as compared to ■^J bushels from 
1,000 pounds cotton-seed meal applied the previous year. 
Gain for Nitrate i^i^.J per acre. 

Mangolds. 

Nitrate of Soda pays well for roots if applied at the rate 
of from 150 to 200 pounds per acre. Use in two applica- 
tions about ten days apart, the first not earlier than 'July. 
The Essex Agricultural Society found by experiment that 12 
tons of farmyard manure and 300 pounds superphosphate 
gave a crof of nearly ten and one-half tons per acre, but 
when 200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda were 
Formulas and ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^-^jj ^^^ increased to over 15 
JJirections. tons. The season was very unfavorable. 

Three hundred pounds per acre of Nitrate is recommended. 

Turnips and Swedes. 

Nitrate is applied for this crop quite in the same manner 
as for mangolds. Dr. Macadam reported to the Arbroath 
Farmers' Club a gain of 37 per cent, in yield from the use of 
336 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre. 

An experiment conducted by Dr. Munro, of Downtown 

Increased Yield. Agricuhural College, Salisbury, gave a 

return of nearly twenty and one-half tons 

per acre, from an application of 600 pounds of Nitrate per 

acre, supplemented by phosphoric acid and potash. The 



Nitrate was used in three applications. An application of ^°°<^ ^°^ 
300 pounds of Nitrate resulted in a yield of thirteen and ^^^°^^ 
one-third tons per acre. 57 

Catch-crops are recommended to pre- Catch-Crops, 

vent losses of available plant food after 
crops are removed. Rape, Italian rye grass, Rye, Thousand- 
headed kale and clovers are suitable. All these should 
be top-dressed with from 100 to 200 pounds per acre of 
Nitrate of Soda, depending upon the exhaustion of the soil. 
In the remarks on the use of Nitrate in this sketch, we have 
taken it for granted that our readers fully understand that 
Nitrate alone is not a complete plant food. In all cases 
where Nitrate has been recommended, phosphoric acid and 
potash are to be used, unless the soil contains ample 
supplies of both. 

Wheat and Oats, Rye and Barley. 

(Bulletin 44, Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station.) 

This bulletin gives in detail the results of experiments 
on wheat with fertilizers, in which Nitrate of Soda is com- 
pared with cotton-seed meal; in all cases the plots were 
liberally supplied with phosphoric acid and potash. The 
average yield of four plots in each instance amounted per 
acre to 49.4 bushels for Nitrate of Soda, -j^.. . , 
and 40.1 bushels for cotton-seed meal, a ^ , . , 

^ TVT" r" o 1 r v/OttOIl— SCCu. 

gain tor JNitrate ot boda or over 22 per cent. ,, , ^ 

*= . ., . . , -^ r Meal Com- 

A similar experiment with oats gave a re- , ,,r, , 

r A u u 1 r XT- re J j pared on Wheat, 

turn or 00 bushels tor iNitrate ot boda and 

only 42 bushels for cotton-seed meal, a gain for Nitrate of 

nearly 43 per cent. The Bulletin recommends, even when 

cotton-seed meal is used in the complete fertilizer, to employ 

Nitrate of Soda as a top-dressing in the spring. 

Three hundred pounds per acre more Wheat, Oats, 
Rye or Barley may be raised for each 100 pounds of Nitrate 
of Soda used as a top-dressing on the soil. Frequent trials 
at Agricultural Experiment Stations the world over fully 
prove this to be so. 

Barley. 

This crop does best on a strong clay loam, but the soil 
must not be rich in organic matter. Soils naturally rich in 



Food for ammoniates are unfavorable, as one of the most important 
plants pQJj^fs in high-grade barley is a complete maturity of the 
58 grain. With soils rich in vegetable matter, the supply of 
the only digestible ammoniate or what is exactly the same 
thing. Nitrated ammonia as Nitrates, continues so late in the 
season that maturity is retarded seriously. About 400 
pounds per acre of fertilizer should be applied broadcast 
before seeding. As soon as the grain is "up," top-dress 
with 200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre. If the soil 
is very rich, apply 100 pounds of Nitrate. 



Buckwheat. 

This crop does well on almost all kinds of soil, but 
should follow a grain or hoed crop — that is, a clean cultiva- 
tion crop. On thin soils use about 400 pounds of fertilizer 
to the acre, applied just before seeding, or even with the 
seed. Heavy soils do not require fertilizing for this crop, 
as it has exceptional foraging powers, and will find nourish- 
ment where many grain crops will starve. As soon as the 
plants are well above ground, apply a top-dressing of 200 
pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre, both on strong and light 
soils. Use one bushel of seed per acre on thin soils, but a 
heavier application on richer soils. 

Oats. 

This grain does well on nearly all types of soil, but 
responds freely to good treatment. There is a vast differ- 
ence in the quality of oats when grown on poor or rich soils. 
Perhaps no other crop so effectually conceals impoverish- 
ment; at the same time the feeding value of oats grown on 
poor soil is very low. In the North oats are sown in the 
spring, and usually after corn or a turned down clover sod. 
In such cases the crop is rarely ever given fertilizer, but 
shows an excellent return for a top-dressing of 100 pounds 
of Nitrate of Soda per acre. The crop has strong foraging 
powers, and will find available mineral plant food where a 
wheat crop would utterly fail. On soils pretty badly ex- 
hausted, an application of 500 pounds of fertilizer will 
yield a profitable return, provided the top-dressing of 
Nitrate is not omitted. Under any condition of soil or 



HIGHLAND EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 




200 lbs. Bone Dust and eight loads of 

Stable Manure per acre. 

Yield, 30 bushels per 

acre. 



1,000 lbs. Lime, 400 lbs. Acid Rock, 

200 lbs. Muriate of Potash and 

100 lbs. Nitrate of Soda per acre. 

Yield, 60 bushels per acre. 



fertilizing, a sickly green color of the young crop shows 
need of Nitrate of Soda plant food, and the remedy is a top 
dressing of Nitrate. In seeding, use two or three bushels 
to the acre. 

Formulas for Oats: 

For One Acre. 

Acid phosphate (at sowing time) 200 lbs. 

Muriate of potash (at sowing time). . . . loo " Ideal Formula 
Nitrate of Soda (in the spring) loo " for Oats. 



400 lbs. 



Rye. 

This is another illustration of the necessity of care in 
the use of fertilizer Nitrogen (ammoniate). Rye does best 
on lighter soils so long as they are not too sandy, but if the 
soil is rich in vegetable matter, or if a fertilizer is used 
containing much organic ammoniate, the grain yield will be 
disappointing; the crop fails to mature in season because 
the Nitration of organic matter is greatest during the warm 
days of midsummer, and a constant supply of available 



Food for 
Plants 

59 



Food for 
Plants 

60 



Nitrate is being furnished at a time when the crop should 
commence to mature. The crop needs Nitrated ammonia, 
but it should have been supplied during the earlier stages 
of growth. Use at first a fertilizer, 500 pounds per acre. 
Top Dress as soon as the crop shows growth in the Spring 
with 100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda to the acre, broadcast. 



Wheat. 

The soil for this grain, fall planting, ranges from a clay 

loam to a moderate sandy loam. For spring wheat, moist 

-,y f\/f/„, peaty soils are used. Wheat 

^ is usually grown in rotation, 

in which case it nearly always 
follows corn, or a clean culture 
crop. The nature of cultivation 
is too well known to require 
mention here. Both spring and 
winter wheat are commonly 
fertilized crops, particularly 
the latter. The average fer- 
tilizer for wheat should contain 
Ammonia (Nitrogen), phos- 
phoric acid and potash. This 
fertilizer is applied with the 
seed, and at the rate of 500 
pounds to the acre. Nitrate of 
Soda IS also applied as a top-dressing as soon as the crop 
shows green in the spring, broadcast, at the rate of 100 
pounds per acre. Like all grains, wheat should have its 
ammoniate plant food early, and in the highly available, 
easily digested Nitrated form, such as is only to be found 
commercially as Nitrate of Soda. 

The plant food needs of a crop of 30 bushels of wheat 
per acre amounts to about 70 pounds of ammonia, 24 pounds 
of phosphoric acid, and 30 pounds of potash; this includes 
the straw, chaff and stubble. One hundred pounds of 
Nitrate of Soda supply about 20 pounds of Nitrated 
ammonia, so that the quantity mentioned for top-dressing 
is a minimum quantity. Much has been said of legume 
ammonia for wheat, the crop being generally grown in rota- 
tion. Whatever ammonia the clover may have gathered. 




a crop of timothy and a crop of corn must be supplied before ^°°^ ^°^ 

the wheat rotation is reached. In many cases, simply top ^^1 

dressing with the Nitrate will be found effectual. In all ^^ 
cases where the acre yields have fallen off, top-dressing of 
Nitrate of Soda should be applied. 

Professor Maercker states that Nitrate of Soda for 
wheat is absolutely necessary under the conditions in Ger- 
many, and that lOO pounds of Nitrate of Soda produces 300 
to 400 pounds of grain and a corresponding amount of straw. 

An Ideal Fertilizer Formula for Wheat. 

Acid phosphate (at sowing time) 300 lbs. 

Muriate of potash (at sowing time) lOO 

Tankage (at sowing time) 100 

Nitrate of Soda (in the Spring) 100 " 

Per acre : . . . 600 lbs. 



FERTILIZERS FOR FRUITS. 

(Bulletin 66, Hatch Experiment Station.) 

^^^ Lack of Nitrogen in the soil is detrimental to 
-^' the size and quality of the fruit. The cheapest 

and most available 
Ammoniate is Ni- 
trate of Soda. A few 
cents worth applied 
to each tree will give 
the largest possible 
yield of choicest 
fruit,returning many 
times its cost. 
Fertilizers for the 
Apple: The results 

show the most improvement where Nitrate ^.j.. . r r, . 

r r ^ i- i t- i • Nitrate of Soda 

of boda was applied, l^or apple trees in . , 

1 r II • r •!• • on Apples, 

grass the following fertilizer is recom- 
mended: Nitrate of Soda i to 5 pounds, Sulphate of potash 
I to 5 pounds, S. C. phosphate rock 4 to 10 pounds; the 
quantity used to be varied according to the size of the tree. 

Fertilizers for the Peach : The fertilizer ^^ , 

recommended, depending upon the size of 
the trees, is substantially the same as for apples, except that 




Food for the phosphate rock is reduced one-half for the earher stages 

^°^^ of growth, remaining the same as for apples in the later 

62 stages. Nitrate of Soda should not be applied until just 

as the trees are beginning to grow. 

W4. i. f o J Fertilizers for other Fruits: For all 

Nitrate of Soda . , - . 

, p, ., perennial iruits as well as shrubs and 

^ jj plants, the fertilizer used should be largely 

available in the early part of the season, as a 
preventive to winter injuries. Nitrate of Soda is the most 
desirable form of ammoniate. 

300 lbs. Nitrate. 
General Fruit ^^^ ^^- ^ Phosphate. 

Formula per Acre. ^^^ ^^^ Sulphate of Potash. 

The rational fertilization of fruit trees depends somewhat 
upon their period of growth; young trees need ample sup- 
plies of Nitrate and potash to develop and ripen new wood. 
Later, at the bearing age, phosphoric acid and Nitrate is 
required for the formation of fruiting buds. These two 
phases in the making of an orchard should have due con- 
sideration and plant food used accordingly. 



Hovv^ Nitrate Benefits the 
Farmer. 

xjTu i. TVT-i. 4. Nitrate of Soda, from the standpoint of 

What Nitrate , * • 1 11 • • 1 

T 1 T -1 Ti. the Agricultural chemist, is a substance 

Looks Like ; Its ,- 7 , , . r • • ■ ^ 1 

p, . . formed by the union of nitric acid and 

p ,. sodium oxide. In appearance it resembles 

coarse salt. In agriculture and the arts, it 
is valuable chiefly for the active Nitrogen (commercially it is 
an ammoniate package) contained in the Nitrate of the com- 
pound; the Soda acts as a carrier of Nitrogen in a combina- 
. . tion that can be handled. When pure it 

a 1 is in contains 16.47 pounds of Nitrogen per 100 

Agriculture. pounds of Nitrate of Soda, that is, 16.47 

per cent. Nitrogen. Commercially pure Nitrate contains 
about 15.75 of Nitrogen, equivalent to 19 per cent, of 
Ammonia, or 380 pounds to the ton. 



Nitrate of Soda is found mixed with „„ . . ^^^^ ^°^ 
, • , 1 ■ r ^u ou T Where it is Plants 
earth in the and section oi northern Chili. 

It is extracted by means of hot water, in ' ^3 

which Nitrate is soluble. The enormous explosive industry of 

this country could not be conducted without j, -g 

Nitrate of Soda, and glass works are 

dependent upon it. In fact, glass works and powder works 

usually have Nitrate on hand. 

Nitrate of Soda has a special bearing j. Position 

on the progress of modern agriculture; in . Modern 

the first place it is the most nutritious form a„^-^„u,,,<. 
r AT- • 1 r J Agriculture, 

or Nitrogenous or ammoniate plant rood, 

and secondly it is a very important factor in the manufacture 
of sulphuric acid and acid phosphate. fVhile the action of 
mtcKO-organtsms with certain crops {legume) combines and 
makes effective use of the inert Nitrogen of the atmosphere, 
such action is far too sloiu and uncertain for all the require- 
ments of modern agriculture. The rapid exhaustion of 
combined Nitrogen has several times been noticed by emi- 
nent scientific men, with reference to food famine, because 
of a lack of the needful Nitrogenous plant food. It has 

been estimated under the present methods ,,,. , , i ii/r i.u a 

, • 1 1 1 r ATT Wasteful Metnods 

or cropping the rich lands or our Western , v r 

States, that for every pound of Nitrogen p, 

actually used to make a wheat crop, four 

to five pounds are utterly wasted. In other words, our 

pioneer agriculture has proceeded as though Fertility Capital 

could be drawn upon forever. 

This injudicious waste is already reducing the yield of 
many of the best lands, rendering the use of lOO pounds of 
Nitrate per acre both profitable and necessary. 
The agricultural value of Nitrate of Soda 
has had the attention of the foremost agri- Eminent Scien- 
cultural and scientific specialists of the *^^*^ *^® World 
world, including such men as Dr. Paul ^^^'' ^^^^ ^^' 
Wagner and Professor Maercker, of Ger- quainted with the 
many; Lawes and Gilbert, Sir Wilham Great Value of 
Crookes, Dr. Dyer and Dr. Voelcker, in ^^t^^ate. 
England; Professors Erandeau, Cassarini, Migneaux, and 
Cadoret, in France; Professors Bernardo, Giner and Alino,in 
Spain; and Drs. Voorhees, Wheeler, Kilgore, Brooks, Dug- 
gar, Stubbs, Ross, Patterson, Hilgard and Shaw, in America. 



Food for Xhe results obtained by these officials mav be summarized 
P^^°^^ as follows: 

64 I. Nitrate of Soda acts very beneficially and with great 

certainty upon all straw-growing plants. 

2. It is of special value for forcing the rapid develop- 
ment and early maturity of most garden crops. 

3. It is of great importance in the production of sugar 
beets, potatoes, hops, fodder crops, fibre plants, and tobacco. 

4. It is exceedingly valuable in developing and main- 
taining meadow grass and pasture lands. 

5. In the early stages of development it produces 
favorable results upon peas, vetches, lupines, clover, and 
alfalfa. 

6. It has been applied with much advantage to various 
kinds of berries, bush fruits, vineyards, orchards and nursery 
stock, and small fruits generally. 

7. It provides the means in the hands of the farmer, 
for stimulating his crops so that they may better withstand 
the ravages of drought, or the onslaughts of plant diseases 
or insect pests, such as boll weevil, etc. 

Top-Dressing. ^.* ^^ "^^^ ^^ "^^^ ^^ ^ surface applica- 
tion to the soil, from time to time, as the 
plants indicate a need of it by their color and growth. 

9. It is immediately available, and under favorable 
conditions its effect upon many crops may be noticed within 
a few days after its application. 

10. It may be used either as a special fertilizer, as a 
supplemental fertilizer, or as a mixed fertilizer, in combina- 
tion with other fertilizer ingredients. 

11. The best results are obtained from its application 
when the soil has been treated with ample supplies of avail- 
able phosphoric acid and potash, or where these are already 
present in ample quantities in the soil. It should always be 
remembered that it furnishes but one element of plant food, 
namely, Nitrogen, but this is the most expensive element of 
the three essential ingredients; and of the various commercial 
forms of Nitrogen (ammoniates) Nitrate is the cheapest. 

12. Its uniform action seems to be to energize the 
capacity of the plant for developing foliage and growth. 
Its action is characterized by imparting to the plant a deep 
green, healthy appearance, and by causing it to grow rapidly 
and to put out numbers of new shoots. 



13. The immediate effect of an application of Nitrate ^^°'^ ^^^ 
of Soda, therefore, is to develop a much larger plant growth, ^°^^ 
and the skillful application of phosphates and potashes ^5 
must be relied upon to act in combination with this effect, 

to secure the largest yields of fruits and grain. 

14. Under favorable conditions of moisture and culti- 
vation, these effects may be confidently anticipated upon all 
kinds of soils. 

15. All of the plant food contained in Nitrate of Soda 
is available and existing in a highly soluble form. The 
farmer should understand that it is not economical to apply 
more of it than can be utilized by the growing crop; one of 
the most valuable qualities of this fertilizer being that it does 
not lie dormant in the soil from one season to the next. 

1*6. The best results are secured when it is applied 
during the early growing periods of the plant. // applied 
later in the development of the pla77t, it has a tendency to 
protract its growing period and to delay the ripening of the 
fruit, as the energies of the plant are immediately concen- 
trated upon developing its growth, after a liberal application 
of Nitrate of Soda. 

17. The farmer must not expect it to excuse him from 
applying proper principles of land drainage, or cultivation 
of the soil, nor should Nitrate of Soda be used in excessive 
quantities too close to the plants that are fertilized with it. 
For most agricultural crops, an application of 100 pounds 
to the acre is sufficient when it is used alone. 

18. It may be applied to either agricultural or garden 
lands in the form of a solution in water, or by sowing it 
broadcast upon the land, or by means of any fertilizer- 
distributing machine in use. If applied in the dry state, 
in order to insure uniform distribution, a convenient method 
is to mix it with twice its weight of air-slacked lime, land 
plaster, phosphates, or even with dry sand, before applying 
it. It can be applied to the surface, and without cultivation 
will be absorbed by the soil, or it may be cultivated into the 
soil by some light agricultural implement, such as a harrow, 
weeder, cultivator or horse Jioe. The capillary movement 
of the soil waters will distribute it in the soil. 

Accepting the conclusions of these scientific men, the use 
of Nitrate of Soda in agriculture ought to be increased 
proportionate to the dissemination of the knowledge of its 



Food for usefulness among our farmers. We ought to expect espec- 
^^^°*^ ially an increase in the consumption of 

66 Its Use Ought Nitrate among growers of tobacco, fibre 

plants, sugar beets, the hop, grape, grass 
and small fruits. The element of plant food first exhausted 
in soils is Nitrogen, and in many cases a marked increase 
in crop is obtained through Top-Dressings of Nitrate alone. 
"Complete" fertilizers are generally rather low in ammo- 
niates and Nitrate may be wisely used to supplement them. 
As it is practically the cheapest form of plant food 
ammonia, its use in complete fertilizers promises to increase 
still further. 



Nitrate of Soda Niter in Fertilizing. 

(Bulletin 24, California State Mining Bureau, May, 1902.) 



By Dr. Gilbert E. Bailey. 



All plants require light, air, heat, water, cultivation, and 
a fertile soil. Every crop removes from the soil a portion 
of the plant-food contained therein, and continuous crop- 
ping will, in time, exhaust the richest soil, unless the nutri- 
tive elements are restored; therefore, the truly economical 
farmer will feed the growing plant or tree with a generous 
hand. The literature on this subject is so scattered as 
to be difficult of access to the general reader, and the follow- 
ing notes are added in order to give some general idea 
of the value of Nitrate of Soda in fertilizing. 

The most important materials used to supply Nitrogen, 
in the composition of commercial fertilizers are Nitrate of 
Soda and sulphate of ammonia. Nitrate of Soda is par- 
ticularly adapted for Top -Dressing during the growing 
season, and is the quickest acting of all the Nitrogenous 
fertilizers. 

Dried blood, tankage, azotine, fish scrap, castor pomace, 
and cotton-seed meal represent fertilizers where the Nitro- 
gen is only slowly available, and they must be applied in 
the fall so as to be decomposed and available for the follow- 
ing season. Nitrogen in the form of Nitrate of Soda is at 



once available during the growing and fruiting season, ^^'^^ ^^^ 

possessing, therefore, a decided advantage over all other 

Nitrogen plant-foods. ' 

The follov^ing list of materials used as a source of Nitro- 
gen, in making commercial fertilizers, shows the percentage 
of Nitrogen in each: 

Per cent. Nitrogen. 

Nitrate of Soda 15 to 16 

Sulphate of ammonia 19 to 22 

Dried blood 10 to 14 

Tankage 5 to 12 

Dried fish scrap 9 to 1 1 

Cotton-seed meal 6 to 7 

Castor pomace 5 ^° ^ 

Tobacco stems 2 to 3 

Bone meal 2 to 4 

reruvian guano 6 to 10 

Nitrate of potash 13 to 14 

Manures '. 0.3 to 1.6 



The following table shows the number of pounds of 
Nitrogen removed in one year from one acre by the crop 
specified: 

Crop. 

Wheat 35 bushels. 

Rye 30 bushels. 

Barley 40 bushels. 

Oats 60 bushels. 

Corn 50 bushels. 

Buckwheat 30 bushels. 

Potatoes 200 bushels. 

Sugar beets 15^ tons. 

Mangel-wurzel 22 tons. 

Meadow hay 2 J tons, dry. 

Timothy 2 tons, dry. 

Green corn 11^ tons. 

Red clover 2 

Lucern 8 

Sugar-cane 20 

Sorghum 15 

Cotton 750 

Hops 600 

Tobacco 1 ,600 lbs. 

Grapes 2 tons. 

Cabbage 31 tons. 

Cucumbers 25 tons. 

Onions 11^ tons. 

Oranges 10 tons. 



Nitrogen. 
59 
51 
46 

55 
67 
35 
46 
69 
150 

83 

89 

85 



tons, dry. 105 
tons. 113 
tons. 153 
tons. 121 
lbs., seed. 26 
lbs., seed. 84 
89 

32 

150 
86 
72 
24 



lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 



Food for The following table shows the quantity of fertilizer 
^"*^ desirable for one acre, with the percentage of Nitrogen in 
it. The quantities given are for the average soil, under 
average conditions, the character and amounts of other 
plant-foods in the fertilizer not being considered here: 



68 



Artichokes 

Asparagus 

Barley 

Beans 

Beets, garden.. . 
Beets, sugar. .. . 

Benne 

Blackberry 

Buckwheat 

Cabbage 

Cane, sugar.. . . 

Carrots 

Cassava 

Celery 

Corn 

Cotton 

Cranberry 

Cucumbers 

Currants 

Egg-plant 

Flax 

Hemp 

Hops 

Horseradish. .. . 

Lettuce 

Melons 



Fertilizer 

Nitrate of 

Soda. 



Per acre. 
500 lbs. 
500 
300 
100 
200 
300 
200 
300 
100 
500 
300 
300 
300 
700 

150 
100 
200 
500 
300 
400 
200 
200 
400 
300 
300 
300 



Nitrogen 

in 
pounds. 



Per cent. 
18 
22.5 

5 
14 
12 
60 

27.5 
19.5 

9.0 
60.0 
22.5 
15.0 

9.0 
28.0 

13 -75 

18.0 

12.0 

36.0 

16.5 

80.0 

12.0 

44.00 

30.00 

24 

50.0 

36.0 



Mint 

Mustard 

Oats 

Onions 

Oranges 

Peas , 

Pineapples 

Potatoes, Irish. 
Potatoes, sweet 

Radishes 

Ramie 

Rape 

Raspberry. . . . 

Rhubarb 

Rice 

Spinach 

Squash 

Strawberry. .. . 

Sunflower 

Tobacco 

Tomatoes 

Trees, general . 

Turnips 

Wheat 



Fertilizer 

Nitrate of 

Soda. 



Per acre. 

700 lbs. 

300 

100 

300 
Per tree. 

3 

Per acre. 

200 

300 

150 

200 

240 

200 
2,800 

300 

600 

300 

180 

200 

300 

300 

600 
1,400 

300 

200 

100 



Nitrogen 

in 
pounds. 



Per cent. 
28 

9 
10 

60 



20 

50 
21 
22 
15 
13 
24 
21 
29 

135 

36.0 
64.0 
45.0 
60.0 
54.00 
36.00 
8.00 

2-5 

3 



Chemical fertilizers are used freely by the fruit growers 
of California, and their use among the farmers is steadily 
increasing. One reason why they are not used more exten- 
sively is that they have to be imported from the East. It is 
also a fact that the total amount now used is only a small 
percentage of what should be employed. Every one will 
admit that the use of fertilizers in this State is small com- 
pared with their use in Germany, where they are employed 
more extensively than by any other nation; yet Dr. Maercker, 



the Director of the Government Agricultural Experiment ^^^^ ^'^^ 

Station at Halle, Germany, says: "Just think! the fertilizer _^^1 

consumption of potash alone in Germany must increase ^9 
700 per cent, before the normal demands of the lands and 
farms are met and satisfied." 



Grass Growing for Profit. 

Timothy and related grasses feed heavily on Nitrogen; 
they are able to transform it completely into wholesome and 
digestible animal food. When full rations of plant food 
are present a good crop of grass will remove about the 
equivalent of the active fertilizer ingredients of 300 pounds 
of Nitrate of Soda, 200 pounds muriate of potash and 400 




Clearing Land for Seeding. 

pounds of Thomas Phosphate Powder. These amounts are 
recommended to be applied per acre as top-dressing for 
grass lands; and if wood ashes are available 200 pounds per 
acre will be very beneficial in addition to the above. Grass 
lands get sour easily, especially when old, and when they 
do, one ton of lime per acre should be harrowed in before 



Food for seeding down anew. The seeding must be done before 
^° ^ September, and the above-mentioned ration should be used 
7° as a top-dressing the following spring, as soon as the grass 
begins to show growth. 

If all the conditions are favorable from three to five tons 
of clean barn-cured hay, free from weeds, may reasonably 
be expected. When grass crops are heavy and run as high 




Types of Characteristic Rock Shattering (1) . 

as 4^ tons per acre field-cured, it is safe to allow 20 per 
cent, shrinkage in weight for seasoning and drying down 
to a barn-cured basis. Nitrate of Soda, the chief con- 
stituent of the prescribed ration, pushes the grass early 
and enables it to get ahead of all weeds, and the crop then 
feeds economically and fully on the other manurial con- 
stituents present in the fertilizer mentioned in the formula 
and present in the soil. 

When Nitrate costs about ^50.00 per ton and clean hay 
sells $16.00 per ton the financial results are very satisfactory. 
Nitrate can sometimes be used alone for a season or two and 
at very great profit, but a full grass ration is better in the long 
run for both the soil and crop. Generally speaking, 100 
pounds of Nitrate, if used under proper conditions, will 
produce an increase of from l,000 to 1,200 pounds of barn- 



900 lbs. 




This illustration was made from the photograph of a 
field of Timothy. The portion on the left was not, that on 
the right was, fertilized with Nitrate of Soda, 400 pounds 
to the acre. Every farmer is interested in getting the 
heaviest possible yield of grass. 



71 



cured, dean timothy hay, the value of which will average ^°°^ ^^^ 
from $8.00 to $10.00. The cost of 100 pounds of Nitrate is ^^^"^^ 
likely to average $2.30 to ^2.60. It pays well to use Nitrate 
liberally on grass lands. 

A reliable, heavy Top-Dressing formula for Grass Lands 
per acre: 

300 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. 

200 lbs. muriate of potash, or 1,000 pounds of wood ashes. 

400 lbs. Thomas slag or Peruvian guano or acid phosphate. 



Making Two Blades of Grass Grow Where One 
Blade Grew Before. 

Grass is a responsive crop and the part played by min- 
eral chemical fertilizers, as proven in Rhode Island, show 
the striking effect of Nitrate on yields and feeding quality. 

Since all the other fertilizers were alike for the three 
plats and had been for many years, and since the general 
character of the soil and the treatments the plats had received 
were uniform, any differences must be ascribed to the influ- 
ence of the varying quantities of Nitrate of Soda. These 
differences, so far as they are shown by the weights of the 
crops for four years are given in brief below: 



Food for 
Plants 

72 



Yield of Cured Hay Under Different Rates 
of Nitrogenous Fertilization. 

Yield of Cured Hay. Average 

XT-, , c c , ,• , 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, Yields 

Nitrate or boda applied. tu ti tu tu-t- 

'^'^ Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. in 1 ons. 

None 5.075 4,000 3,290 2,950 1.9 

150 lbs. per acre* 6,300 5,600 5,550 4,850 2.8 

450 lbs. per acre* 6,913 8,200 9,390 8,200 4.1 

♦Amount slightly reduced in 1901 and 1902. 

What the These figures show a uniform, consist- 

Fip-ures Show ^"^ ^^^ marked advantage from the use of 

^Nitrate Nitrogen; and the effect of its 
absence is shown by the steady decline of the yields on the 
no-Nitrate plat from year to year. In each year the use of 




Rock before Blasting with One Pound of Forty Per Cent. Dynamite. 

150 pounds of Nitrate gave increased yields over the plat 
without Nitrogen, the gain varying from 1,200 to almost 
2,300 pounds, an average gain of about seven-eighths of a 
ton of hay. Three times this amount of Nitrate did not, of 
course, give three times as much hay, but it so materially 
increased the yield as to show that it was all used to good 
advantage except, perhaps, in the second year. This was 
an exceptionally dry year and but one crop could be cut. 




Same Rock Shattered by the Explosion of Dynamite. 

weather of spring. The full ration of Nitrogen, 450 pounds 
of Nitrate, more than doubled the yield of hay over that pro- 
duced on the no-Nitrate plat in 1900 and in the next two 
years it nearly tripled the yield. The average increase over 
the 150 pound plat was one and three-tenths tons and 
over the plat without Nitrogen was two and five-eighths tons. 



73 



The advantage from the Nitrate showed strikingly in the ^'^°'^ ^°^ 

production of a rapid and luxurious early growth while -^ 

moisture was still available. This supply of readily soluble 
food comes just when it is most needed, since the natural 
change of unavailable forms of Nitrogen in the soil to the 
soluble Nitrates proceeds very slowly during the cool, moist 



Effect on Quality of Hay. 

Almost as marked, and certainly more 
surprising and unexpected, was the effect 
of the Nitrate upon the quality of the hay 
produced. 

The hay from the plats during the first 
season was of such diverse character that different ton values 



How Nitrate 
Improves the 
Quality of the 
Hay. 



Food for had to be placed upon it in estimating the profit from the 
^°^^ use of fertiHzers. That from the no-Nitrate plat, since it 
74 contained so much clover at both cuttings, was considered 
worth only ^9.00 a ton; the first cutting on the small Nitro- 
gen ration was valued at ^12.00 and the second cutting at 
i^io.oo; while ^16.00 and ^12.00 were the values given to the 
first and second cuttings respectively on the plat receiving 
the full ration of Nitrate. 

But the reduction in the percentage of clover was not 
the only benefit to the quality of the hay. The Nitrate also 
decreased the proportion of red top as compared with the 
finer timothy. This tendency was noticed in the second 
year, when a count of the stalks on selected equal and 
typical areas showed 13 per cent, of timothy on the 150 
pound plat, and 44 per cent, on the 450 pound plat. In the 
third year the percentages of timothy were 39 per cent, and 
67 per cent., respectively, and in the fourth year the differ- 
ences were even more marked. 




Types of Characteristic Rock Shattering (2). 

. All 1- Timothy is a grass which will not tol- 

erate an acid soil, and it is probable that 
the liming given these plats in 1897 did 
not make them as "sweet" as would have 
been best for this crop. Now, when Nitrate of Soda is used 
by plants, more of the nitric acid is used than of the soda 
and a certain portion of the latter, which is an alkali, is 



Soil Necessary 
for Grass. 



left to combine with other free acids of the soil. This, 

like lime, neutralizes the acids and thus tiq™ Nitrate 

"sweetens" the soil for the timothy. Red 

top, on the contrary, does well on soils 

which are slightly acid, and so would have 

the advantage over timothy in a soil not 

perfectly sweet. With the assistance of the 

Soda set free from the Nitrate, the timothy was more than 



Neutralizes Soil 
Acids and 
Sweetens the 
Soil. 




Types of Characteristic Rock Shattering (3). 

able to hold its own and thus to make what the market calls a 
finer, better hay; and since the market demands timothy and 
pays for it, the farmer who sells hay is wise if he meets the 
demand. 



Financial Profit from Use of Nitrate. 

How It Pays. 



Frequently more plant food is paid for 
and put on the land than the crop can 
possibly use, the excess being entirely thrown away, or, at 
best, saved to benefit some subsequent crop. This was 
far from the case in these trials. Indeed, it was found by 
analysis of the hay that more potash was removed by the 
crops of the first two years than had been added in the 
muriate used, consequently the amount applied upon each 
plat was increased in 1901 and in 1902. The Nitrogen 
requirement of the crops was found to be slightly less than 
was supplied in 450 pounds of Nitrate and the amount was 



Food for 
Plants 

75 



Food for reduced to 400 pounds in 1901, and to 415 pounds in 1902. 

^^^°^^ The Nitrate on the second plat was also reduced in propor- 

76 tion. The phosphoric acid, however, was probably in 

considerable excess, since liming sets free phosphoric acid 

already in the soil and so lessens the apparent financial 

profit; but not to an excessive degree. 



Excess of Value of Hay Over Cost of Fertilizers. 

Nitrate of Soda jggg^ jgQQ_ jgQj_ jgQ, Average, 
applied. 

None ^6.09 1^13.42 ^12.13 $7.44 1^9.77 

150 lbs.* 14.34 20.37 23.97 16.52 18.80 

450 lbs.* 19.62 30.40 40-7° 32-74 30-86 

♦Slightly reduced in 1901 and 1902. 



Practical Conclusions. 

From these striking results it must be evident that grass 
land as well as tilled fields is greatly benefited by Nitrate, 
and that it would be to the advantage of most farmers to 
improve the fertility of their soils by growing good crops 
of grass, aided thereto by liberal fertilizing. 
_, _. . The application should be in the form 

„ .J. , of aTop-Dressing, applied very early in the 

spring in order that the first growth may 
find readily available material for its support and be carried 
through the season with no check from partial starvation. 

On land which shows any tendency to sourness, a ton 
to the acre of slaked lime should be used every five or six 
years. This makes the land sweet and promotes the growth 
of grass plants of the best kinds. 

Lime should be sown upon the furrows and harrowed 

into the soil. Top-dressing with lime after seeding zuill not 

answer, and, in the case of very acid soils, the omission of 

lime at the proper time will necessitate re-seeding to secure a 

good stand of grass. 

T, . , All the elements of fertility are essen- 

Economical . , , i- -i ^ r n- 

J T^ £i. t-1 tial so that ordmanly complete tertilizers 

and Profitable , i tvt- i • i t- 

p .. may be used. Nitrate being used as a lop 

Dresser, though on some soils rich in phos- 
phoric acid or potash, one or both of these ingredients may 
be used in small quantity. This is particularly true of phos- 






Whole Field, except Cciuc/ , i ciuii/.cJ wiLh 1 oiutcea 1 er Cent. Acid Phosphate, 

Six Hundred Pounds; Sulphate of Potash, Two Hundred Pounds; 

Nitrate of Soda, Two Hundred Pounds. 

Square in Center of Field had Six Hundred Pounds Acid Phosphate, 

and Two Hundred Pounds Sulphate of Potash, but no 

Nitrate of Soda. 

On such soils as that of these plats, the best fertihzer 
combination for annual application appears to be: 

400 pounds phosphate. 

200 pounds muriate of potash. 

300 pounds Nitrate of Soda. 

No stable manure has been used upon the field under 
experiment for over twenty years. 

The Bulletins of the Rhode Island Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station, or Farmers' Bulletin No. 77, published by the 
United States Department of Agriculture, tells how and 



77 



phates after lime has been applied to the soil, since lime aids ^o°<l ^^^ 
to set the phosphoric acid free from its natural insoluble ^°^^ 
combinations. 

Grass seems to demand less phosphoric acid than was 
applied in the test; but it responds with increasing profit to 
applications of Nitrate of Soda up to 350 pounds to the 
acre when potash and phosphates are present. 



Food for vvhen to use lime. Details of excellent grass experiments, 
^^^°^^ to be found in recent Bulletins issued by the Rhode 
78 Island Agricultural Experiment Station, Kingston, Rhode 
Island, tell about Nitrate of Soda. 

Nitrate of Soda l^ "^Y T ^\°''' f. ^1^!"^ w^'^ '"^ "'^"' 
as Used in *''°" ^ ^ " ^'^^^'^ ^ success in 

Clark's Grass obtaining remarkably large yields of hay 

Cultivation ^°^ ^ number of years, an average of 9 tons 

of cured hay per acre for 1 1 years in suc- 
cession, has been heralded throughout the United States. 
He attributes his success largely to the liberal dressings of 
Nitrate of Soda w^hich he invariably applies to his fields 
early in the spring, and which start the grass off v^ith such 
a vigorous growth as to shade and crowd out all noxious 
weeds before they get fairly started and which result in a 
large crop of clean and high priced hay. 

It is also known that many who have tested 
ow are u j^j^ methods have met with failure chiefly 

u iva 1 n because they neglected to supply the youne 

May Aid in the , / •°, a: • / . r 

^ grass plants with a sumcient amount or 

Fro ta e se readily available food for their use early in 

^ 1 ra e. ^j^^ spring when it is most needed, and 

before the organic forms of Nitrogen, which exist in the soil 

only in an insoluble form and which cannot be utilized by the 

plants as food, until converted into soluble Nitrates by the 

action of bacteria in the soil. This does not occur to any 

great extent until the soil warms up to summer temperature 

when it is too late in the season to benefit the crops' early 

spring growth. 

It is important that we always bear in mind the fact 

that our only source of Nitrogen in the soil for all plants 

is the remnants of former crops (roots, stems, dead leaves, 

weeds, etc.) in diff^erent stages of decomposition, and that 

in the early spring there is always a scarcity of Nitrogen 

in the soil in an available form, for the reason that the most 

of that which was converted into soluble forms by the action 

of the soil bacteria during the warm summer months of the 

previous year was either utilized by the plants occupying 

the ground at that time or has been washed down below the 

reach of the roots of the young plants by the melting snow 

and the heavy rains of late winter and early spring. 



When we consider the fact that most plants require ^^^^ ^or 
and take up about 75 per cent, of their total Nitrate Ammo- ^°^^ 
niate during the earlier stages of their growth and that Nitro- 79 
gen is the element most largely entering into the building 
up of the life principle (or protoplasm) of all plants, it is plain 
that we cannot afford to jeopardize the chances of growing 
crops by having only an insufficient supply of immediately 
available Nitrogen when it is most needed. 

Tomatoes. 

Tomatoes are successfully grown on all soils, excepting 
very light sand or a very heavy clay; with irrigation, they 
may be grown profitably on light sandy soils. The soil 
m'ust be plowed deeply, and thoroughly worked. It is 
generally best to buy plants from a reputable grower, unless 
the crop is planted on a large scale for canning, in which 
case plants are grown under special instructions of the 
cannery. The main feature in profitable tomato growing is 
to maintain a rapid, steady growth. The soil should be 
kept pulverized at the surface as a mulch, for the crop uses 
enormous quantities of water. The plants continue bear- 
ing until frost, hence the earlier fruiting commences the 
heavier the crop through simply having a longer period in 
bearing. Ten tons per acre is by no means an unusual 
yield, but plant food must be used with a free hand. 

The New Jersey Experiment Station made an experi- 
ment with different forms of ammoniates on this crop, and 
the Nitrated ammoniate (Nitrate of Soda) not only pro- 
duced the largest crops, but also the largest quantity of 
^' early" tomatoes, and the lowest per cent, of culls. The 
yield was twelve per cent, greater than that from sulphate 
of ammonia, and sixty-eight per cent, greater than that from 
dried blood. As soon as the plants are well rooted, top- 
dress with 200 to 300 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre, 
worked into the soil about the plants. Farm-yard manure 
may be used on this crop when grown for canning, but 
the results are always doubtful, as a continued stretch of 
dry weather may injure the crop through drying out the soil 
by the large quantity of vegetable matter mixed with it. 
However rich the soil may be, or however freely chemical 
fertilizers may have been used, the top-dressing of Nitrate 



Food for -yvill be found to have increased the fruiting power of the 
^° ^ plants, and to have also added to the flavor and color of 
80 the fruit. 

Formula for Tomatoes: 

Nitrate of Soda (in two or more applications) 400 lbs. 

Superphosphate 400 " 

Sulphate of potash 100 " 



Tobacco. 

The value of tobacco depends so much upon its grade, 
and the grade so much upon the soil and climate, as w^ell as 
fertilization, that no general rules can be laid dow^n in 
tobacco culture. Leaving out special tobaccos, such as 
Perique, the simplest classification of tobacco for the pur- 
poses of this book are as follows: Cigar. — Tobacco for cigar 
manufacture, grown chiefly in Connecticut and Wisconsin. 
Manufacturing. — Tobacco manufactured into plug tobacco, 
or the various forms for pipe smoking and cigarettes. All 
kinds of tobacco have the same general habits of growth, 
but the two classes mentioned have very diff'erent plant 
food requirements. 

Cigar tobaccos generally require a rather light soil; 
manufacturing tobaccos prefer heavy, fertile soils. In either 
case, the soil must be clean, deeply broken, and thoroughly 
pulverized. Fall plowing is always practiced on heavy 
lands, or lands new to tobacco culture. Tobacco may safely 
be grown on the same land year after year. The plant 
must be richly fertilized; it has thick, fleshy roots, and 
comparatively little foraging power — that is, ability to send 
out roots over an extensive tract of soil in search of plant 
food. The crop needs of plant food are about 170 pounds 
of ammonia per acre, 70 pounds of phosphoric acid, and 
250 to 300 pounds of potash; on the basis of the chemical 
analysis of the whole crop. As phosphoric acid is apt to 
take insoluble and unavailable forms in the soil, the quantity 
is usually more than doubled. The fertilizers recommended 
for tobacco vary a great deal, but even with the phosphoric 
acid double the actual need, the ammonia in the fertilizer 
should exceed the phosphoric acid. 

Fertilizers for tobacco run from two to four per cent, 
ammonia, eight to nine per cent, available phosphoric acid. 



and six to eight per cent, potash, the latter ahvays in the ^°°^ *°^ 
form of sulphate. This fertilizer is used in quantities per ^°^^ 
acre as low as 400 pounds, and as high as 3,000 pounds. ^^ 
It should always be supplemented by a top-dressing of 
Nitrate of Soda, along the rows of young plants, ranging 
from 200 to 600 pounds per acre. Manufacturing tobaccos 
are particularly benefited by the application of Nitrated 
ammoniates, of which class of fertilizer chemicals Nitrate of 
Soda alone is cheap enough for use as plant food. While 
the production of leaf may be enormously increased by 
abundant use of this Nitrated ammonia, the other plant 
food elements should also be used to secure a well matured 
crop. In the case of cigar tobaccos, Nitrated ammoniates 
should be used exclusively, as it is difficult to secure a 
thoroughly matured leaf unless the supply of digestible 
ammoniate is more or less under control, a condition not 
practicable with ordinary ammoniates. Should the crop at 
any time before mid-August take on a yellow, sickly color, 
Nitrate of Soda should be broadcasted at once, along the 
rows, and at the rate of 200 pounds per acre. If this broad- 
casting can be done just before a rain, the results will appear 
promptly. 

Tobacco growing is special farming, and should be 
carefully studied before starting in as a tobacco planter. 
For small plantations, the plants are best bought of a regular 
seedsman. The cultivation is always clean, and an earth 
mulch from two to three inches in depth should be main- 
tained — that is, the surface soil to that depth kept thor- 
oughly pulverized. 

Formula for Tobacco: 

Nitrate of Soda 300 lbs. 

Superphosphate 100 " 

Sulphate of potash (" high grade ") 100 " 



Sweet Potatoes. 

This crop prefers a soil lighter than Irish potatoes, 
but the preparation of the soil is much the same. It is an 
underground crop, and must not have to mine room for its 
roots. It should follow a clean cultivation crop, and be 
kept very clean itself. Too much ammoniate fertilizer 



Food for interferes with the maturity of the crop, producing not only 

a large crop of useless vines, but also few marketable roots, 

82 and those of very poor keeping quality. 

On this account, the ammoniate plant food applied 
should not be of the ordinary kind which becomes slowly 
available, and continues to supply active Nitrated ammonia 
later in the season, thus delaying maturity to such extent 
that the crop is injured by cold weather. 
Formula for Sweet Potatoes: 

Nitrate of Soda (after slips are rooted) Top-Dressing. . 200 lbs. 

Muriate of potash 100 " 

Superphosphate 200 " 



Sugar-Cane. 

This is a typical crop of the West Indies, but is also 
grown successfully in Louisiana and Florida, The Sand- 
wich Islands are also very successful for cane growing. The 
method of planting, by planting sections of cane, is pretty 
generally practiced in all sugar cane countries. The soil is 
generally selected for its natural fertility, but many cane 
lands fail simply because the humus, ammonia supplying 
substance, has been cropped out of the soil. The yields 
per acre are very high, often reaching 100 tons of green 
cane. With such heavy cropping, the plant food needs are 
naturally very high — nearly 400 pounds of ammonia (Nitro- 
gen) being actually required per acre. The fertilizer used 
contains ammonia, phosphoric acid and potash. An excess 
of phosphoric acid is apt to force an early maturity of the 
crop, especially if ammonia is lacking. Evidences of a too 
early maturity should be promptly treated with applications 
along the rows of 400 to 800 pounds of Nitrated ammoniate 
per acre — Nitrate of Soda. 

If the soil is very rich in organic matters, the crop 
will fail to mature properly, and while the yield of cane 
may be great, the actual sugar produced will be low. Ni- 
trated ammoniates have the advantage of furnishing ammonia 
when the plants need it most. If very rich soils must be used 
it is best to grow a forage crop on the soil one or two years 
before planting to cane. The proper care of stubble crops 
is largely a matter of fertilizing; if fertilizers are freely used, 



the life of the stubble will be greatly prolonged. This is ^°°^ ^°^ 

particularly true of the Nitrated ammoniates. As potash _^^L^ 

and phosphates are readily available their use has no restric- ^3 
tions, but ordinary ammoniates cannot well be thoroughly 
worked into the soil, and they fail in a large measure to reach 
the crop. The Nitrated ammoniate, Nitrate of Soda, being 
soluble in water, at once acts effectively. 



Sugar Beets. 

Select, if possible, a deep mellow loam, or even a sandy 
loam. The crop should follow a clean cultivation crop, 
such as corn, with deep fall plowing and cross plowing in 
the spring. With a hard subsoil a subsoil plow must be 
used, and used conscientiously. Work thoroughly into the 
soil at the last harrowing before seeding, 300 pounds of a 
fertilizer, consisting of 100 pounds high grade superphos- 
phate, 100 pounds fine ground bone and 100 pounds potash, 
and, see that the potash is in the form of sulphate, or Canada 
wood ashes. As soon as the plants have made two leaves, 
apply along the rows a top-dressing of 300 pounds of Nitrate 
of Soda per acre. As in the case of barley, sugar beets must 
be thoroughly matured, or the percentage of sugar will 
be low. 

Strawberries. 

This plant requires a moist soil, but not one water- 
logged at any time of the year. A light clay loam, or a 
sandy loam is preferable. There are several methods of 
cultivation, but the matted row is generally found more 
profitable than the plan of growing only in hills. While 
some growers claim that one year's crop is all that should 
be harvested before ploughing down for potatoes, as a mat- 
ter of fact the common practice is to keep the bed for at 
least two harvests. In selecting plants care should be exer- 
cised to see that pistillate plants are not kept too much by 
themselves, or the blossoms will prove barren. The crop 
is a heavy consumer of plant food, and the soil cannot be 
made too rich. Farmyard manure should never be used 
after the plants are set out, as the weed seeds contained 
therein will give much trouble, especially as the horse hoe 



84 



Food for jg Qf little use in the beds. Use from 400 to 800 pounds 
of phosphate, applied broadcast immediately after harvest; 
in the spring, as soon as the strawberry leaves show the 
bright, fresh green of new growth, and apply broadcast 
200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda to the acre. 



Soiling Crops. 

"Soiling" is rapidly becoming recognized as the most 
economical method of stock feeding; practically, soiling 
means keeping stock confined, and using green-cut food. 
It is now known to be much more economical than pastur- 
ing, not only that more stock can be kept per acre, but the 
feeding results are more profitable. The crops chiefly used 
are vetches, the clovers, rye, buckwheat, spurry, fodder 
corn, stock beets, cow peas, etc. A succession of crops 
should be grown, the earliest in most sections being crimson 
clover, sown the previous summer, and followed by red 
clover, corn, etc., and ending with cow peas and the vetches. 
The Silo is used to store green food for the winter months, 
fodder corn being most commonly used in the Silo. 

A rank growth of forage is required, and the maturity 
of the crop is not a consideration. The soil should be 
made very fertile and fertilizers used with a free hand. 
Farmers can easily test the value of heavy fertilizer appli- 
cations in soiling, by comparing diflTerent parts of the same 
field, differently fertilized. Apply per acre, just before, or 
even with the seed, from 400 to 800 pounds of phosphate, 
and as soon as the plants are well up, top-dress with Nitrate 
of Soda, using from 300 to 600 pounds per acre, and experi- 
ence will more often approve the 600 pound application 
than the 300. Top-dress in quite the same manner for 
second crops. It is a quick, rank growth of green substance 
' that is wanted, and for this purpose no other form of ammo- 
nia is as quick acting as Nitrated ammoniate, or Nitrate of 
Soda. 

Small Fruits. 

Under this head we treat of blackberries, currants, 
gooseberries and raspberries. Strawberries have been 
treated separately in another part of this book. All these 
small fruits are commonly grown in the garden, generally 



under such conditions that systematic tillage is not practica- ^°°'^ ^^^ 
ble. For this reason such plant food essentials as may exist ^"^^ 
naturally in the soil become available to the uses of the ^5 
plants very slow^ly. This is as true of the decomposition 
of animal or vegetable ammoniates as of phosphates and 
potashes. Consequently, small fruits in the garden suffer 
from lack of sufficient plant food. All these plants when 
planted in gardens are usually set in rovv^s four feet apart, 
the plants about three feet apart in the rows; about 4,200 
plants to an acre. In field culture, blackberries are usually 
set four feet apart each way. 

So far as possible, small fruits should be cultivated in 
the early spring, and all dead canes removed. Work into 
the soil along the rows from 300 to 600 pounds of phos- 
phate and potash; when the plants are in full leaf, broadcast 
along the rows from 200 to 400 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, 
and work in with a rake. If at any time before August the 
vines show a tendency to drop leaves, or stop growing, apply 
more Nitrate. Small fruits must have a steady, even growth; 
in most cases unsatisfactory results can be directly traced to 
irregular feeding of the plants. In field culture, the crop 
must be tilled quite the same as for corn; in the garden in 
very dry weather irrigation should be used if possible. The 
yield per acre is very heavy, and, of course, the plants must 
be given plant food in proportion. 

Greenhouse Plant Food. 

The use of rotted stable manure as a source of green- 
house plant food has been the custom for so many years 
that more effective forms of plant food make headway 
slowly; yet this rotted stable manure has many disadvan- 
tages. It always contains more or less weed seed as well 
as disease germs, and it supplies its plant food in available 
form very irregularly. Also, by fermentation it materially 
influences the temperature of the seed bed, a temperature 
we have no means of regulating. The ammonia it contains 
is not Nitrated, hence for forcing it cannot be safely relied 
upon. For greenhouse work, the fertilizer chemicals should 
be used, such as Nitrate of Soda, acid phosphate, and 
sulphate of pofash. They should always be used in such 
proportions that 100 pounds of ammoniate Nitrogen are 



86 



Food for always accompanied by 30 pounds of phosphoric acid and 
^°^^ 70 pounds of actual potash. The quantity to be applied 
should correspond to about three-fourths of an ounce of 
ammoniate Nitrogen per square yard of surface; that is, to 
each square yard of bench, use about 5 ounces of Nitrate 
of Soda, 3 ounces of acid phosphate and 2 ounces of sul- 
phate of potash. A mixture of these proportions may be 
dissolved in water and applied in small portions every few 
days, taking care, however, to cease applications with those 
plants it is desired to fully mature, as soon as the desired 
growth is made. 

Orange Groves. 

Satisfactory results have been obtained in Florida by 
fertilizing during the cold season. About two months 
before the period of growth begins, apply for each full 
grown tree a mixture of 7 pounds of high-grade super- 
phosphate and 7 pounds of sulphate of potash, by working 
it in the soil; after which one pound of Nitrate of Soda may 
be sown on the surface. In order to accomplish this appli- 
cation economically, it is well to mix the Nitrate with two 
or three times the quantity of fine, dry soil before applying. 
The working of the soil must not be so deep or thorough 
as to start the growth of the tree. An excess of Nitrate 
is to be avoided, but the amount mentioned is not too much. 
All other ammoniates on the market must be converted 
into Nitrate by weathering and the action of the soil bac- 
teria before they can possibly be available for plant food. 
Nitrate of Soda is a pre-digested ammoniate, and while 
there is some danger of loss by leaching, this is easily 
avoided by the use of small and frequent applications. 
With sulphate of ammonia the danger is much greater, as 
it must be converted into Nitrate before it is available as 
food, and during this comparatively long process may all be 
lost by rains and leaching. 

Dried blood, cotton-seed meal and all other ammoniates, 
if used in such quantities as to afford an adequate supply 
of Nitrate, may cause die-back. No disease results from 
more than this, but the annual growth of leaves of fruit 
trees added to the fruit makes a total yearly consumption 
of the plant food essentials much greater tban that of any 
grain crop. The early decay of orchards as well as failure 



to set fruit buds, is largely a matter of lack of plant food. Food for 

• 1*11 ^^13 nt^ 

Orchards should have Nitrated ammoniates, applied early 

in the season, as late supplies of ammonia are liable to cause ^7 
a heavy setting of leaf buds at the expense of next years fruit. 
The ordinary ammoniates are not satisfactory for orchard worky 
as they continue to supply available ammonia all through 
the season; not enough in the early part of the year to 
properly set the fruit, hence severe dropping; too much 
late in the year when none is needed and which causes the 
formation of leaf rather than fruit buds. Apply per acre 
300 to 600 pounds of a fertilizer high in phosphates and 
potash, and top-dress with 200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda 
at blossoming or just after, followed by an additional Top- 
Dressing of 100 to 200 pounds per acre some four weeks 
later. The soil between the trees should be regularly tilled 
much as in corn growing. That it is not generally done is 
no argument against the value of such cultivation methods. 

Nursery Stock. 

The soil should be a moderately light loam, somewhat 
deep and thoroughly worked. It is an advantage if the, soil 
has previously been in corn, or some other clean cultivation 
crop. Nursery stock should not be planted on turned- 
under clover stubble. A soil rich in ammoniates produces 
an overgrowth of wood, which fails to mature. This is 
caused by continued supplies of natural Nitrate up to the 
time of frost, and as a consequence new sap wood is con- 
tinually being formed, only to be killed back in winter. 
The ammonia in all low grade ammoniates is slowly Nitrated 
by the action of certain soil organisms, which continue at 
work so long as tliere are any ammoniates to work upon, 
or the soil not frozen. All through the season of growth, 
more or less Nitrated ammonia is being supplied, which acts 
to prevent the complete ripening of the summer's growth. 

This is a marked evil in growing nursery stock. The 
wood is not matured and is badly killed back by frost, 
causing serious disfigurement; also the young trees become 
too slender and suffer more in transplanting. Apply along 
the rows a fertilizer consisting of 200 pounds of acid phos- 
phate and 200 pounds of sulphate of potash, at the rate of 
400 pounds per acre, and work well into the soil. When 



Food for {\^Q young trees are in full leaf, apply in the same manner 

300 to 400 pounds of Nitrate of Soda to the acre; and, four 

^^ weeks later, repeat the Nitrate application, using 150 to 
200 pounds. This will ensure a rapid growth early in the 
season with ample time for thorough maturing before cold 
weather. The Nitrate of Soda supplies only Nitrated 
ammonia, which is immediately available for the uses of the 
plant. Nursery stock must be constantly watched for 
evidences of disease, and prompt action taken when such 
are discovered. 

Melons. 

The remarks following upon the profitable fertilizing of 
melons, applies also to cucumbers, cantaloupes, squashes 
and similar crops. All these crops do best on a rather light 
loam, or if heavier soils must be used the drainage should 
be of the best. The method of growing these crops is too 
well known to require mention here. They should generally 
follow a clean culture crop, such as corn, as most of these 
plants cover the ground between rows so quickly that 
cultivation is limited to the first few weeks of growth. This 
is also an argument for a thorough preparation of the soil, 
deep plowing and deep working in preparing the hills. 

As soon as the plants are well started, work into the soil 
about the hills a few ounces of a Nitrated ammoniate 
(Nitrate of Soda), a quantity per hill corresponding to 250 
to 350 pounds of Nitrate of Soda per acre. If at any time 
the hills should show a sickly yellow, apply Nitrate at once, 
however late in the season. 

Cucumbers, squashes and cantaloupes should be planted 
in hills 5 feet apart each way, watermelons in hills 10 feet 
apart each way. On very light soils, heavy rains are apt to 
leach out available plant food, a result soon followed by 
a yellowing of the stem of the plants. This is invariably a 
sign of a lack of Nitrated plant food. Level culture rather 
than ridges seems to be found more generally successful. 

Formula for Melons: 

Nitrate of Soda (in two or more applications) 800 lbs. 

Superphosphate 800 

Muriate of potash 200 



Potatoes. ^°°<^ ^°^ 

Plants 
As is well known this crop must have a deep mellow '^ 
soil, inclining more to sand than clay. The soil must be 
fined to a considerable depth, and kept free of weeds through- 
out the growling season. The most successful growers use 
only commercial fertilizers, and the amounts applied per 
acre range from 200 pounds to 1,000 and even 2,000. The 
fertilizer used should be high in potash, and this potash 
should be of such form as to be free or nearly free of 
chlorine, such as sulphate of potash. Early potatoes have 
a short season of growth, and the Nitrating action in the 
soil is insufficient to keep up a high pressure of growth 
during the earlier weeks. For this crop Nitrate of Soda is 
indispensable, top-dressing ailong the rows as soon as the 
plants are well above the ground and at the rate of 200 
pounds per acre. For fall potatoes, an application of 50 to 
100 pounds of Nitrate will be sufficient. 

Heavy yields of potatoes can be secured only with good 
seed. Many of the most successful growers cold-storage 
their seed potatoes, that the vitality of the seed may not be 
reduced by freezing and thawing during winter. Seed 
should be cut to two or three "eyes," and only tubers of the 
best quality used. The rows should be about three feet 
apart, and the seed dropped fifteen inches apart in the rows. 
Formula for Potatoes: 

Amount of Fertilizer Used Per Acre. 

Nitrate of Soda 200 lbs. 

Muriate of potash 100 

Superphosphate 300 



Hops. 
A Record of Four Years' Experiments with Hops. 

The experiments were conducted at Golden Green, 
Hadlow, near Tunbridge, England, and under the super- 
vision of Dr. Bernard Dyer. Seven plots were arranged, 
all except No. 7 receiving equal and ample quantities of 
phosphoric acid and potash, but varying amounts of Nitrate 
of Soda, and (plot 7) thirty loads of stable manure. The 
fertilizing of the plots, and the average crop, kiln dried hops 



oo 


23 


67 


39 


75 


41 


5^ 


49 


5« 


49 


25 


5 



Food for pgr acre, with the percentage of gain over the plot not 

^°^^ treated with Nitrate, are shown in the following table: 
90 

Plot and Fertilizer. Kiln Dried Hops. Gain Per Cent. 

1 No Nitrate 9 . 

2 2cwt. NITRATE i; 

34" " 13 

4 6 " " 13. 

5 8 " " 14. 

6 10 " " 14. 

7 30 loads manure 10 . 

The results show a material gain in the crop from the 
use of Nitrate of Soda, but the applications on plots 5 and 
6 are perhaps greater than will prove economical. The 
quality of the crop was given exhaustive examination, with 
the results that plots 2, 3, 4 and 7 graded all the same, and 
the highest. The quality on the other plots was not ma- 
terially different. As a result of the investigation. Dr. Dyer 
recommends Nitrate of Soda strongly for hop growing, but 
suggests early applications. 

Formula for Hops: 

Nitrate of Soda 600 lbs. 

Acid phosphate, 200 lbs., or Thomas slag 300 

Sulphate of potash, 100 lbs., or unleached wood ashes... 400 
Lime 100 



Corn. 

The crop is especially adapted for making use of rough 
age of all sorts. It has a long season of growth and 
makes its heaviest demand for food late in the season 
when the conditions are such that soil Nitration is 
at its highest period of development. It is also a 
deep rooting crop and capable of drawing its food 
and water from great depths. It needs vast quan- 
tities of water, and the tillage must be very thorough 
that an even earth mulch may be practically con- 
tinuous. In the early spring it frequently starts off 
slowly, and on this account should have some help 
in the form of hill applications of highly available 
plant food. 

Sweet corn is quite a different crop from field 
corn; it has a much shorter period of growth and 
should be fertilized much more heavily. The 




Food for 
Plants 

91 



FERTILIZER PER VINE, OMITTING NITRATE 
NITROGEN. 

3-5 oz. Muriate or Sulphate of Potash per vine, or 

34 lbs. per acre. 
2 oz. Acid Phosphate per vine, or 113 lbs. per acre. 



Food for object in this case is not a matured grain, and Nitrate of 
^°*^ Soda should be used very Hberally in the shape of top- 
92 dressings. It is desirable with this crop to guard against 
a too early maturity, and consequently the available phos- 
phoric acid in the fertilizer should be kept low, not over 
120 pounds per ton. 
Formula for Corn: 

Nitrate of Soda 200 lbs. 

Dry ground fish 200 " 

Tankage loo " 

Acid phosphate 200 " 

Muriate of potash 200 " 



Grapes. 

f^ Grape plantations should be located and planted by an 
expert, and one, too, who has experience with the locality 

^^^v-.,^.^ -^^^^^^^_^^ TrT'o'^l-^-rL selected as 

N^^^^v^J^^^^^^^^^^^'^S^LTIL.;:^^^ the site of 

the vine- 
yard. The 
treatment of 
^^^4/ the young plants 
is a matter of soil 
and climate, and 
for which there are 
no general rules. 
When the vines have 
reached bearing age, how- 
*ever, their fertilization becomes 
a very important matter. The 
new wood must be thoroughly 
matured to bear next year's fruit, 
and an excess of ammoniate late 
in the season not only defeats this ob- 
ject, but also lessens the number of 
• fruit buds. Potash and phosphoric acid 
must be used freely, about 50 pounds 
'of potash and 60 pounds of available phos- 
phoric acid to the acre. This is not a crop for 
ordinary commercial fertilizers. The fertilizer 
suggested above should be applied in the spring, and at the 





Food for 
Plants 

93 



FERTILIZER PER VINE, WITH NITRATE NITROGEN. 

3-5 oz. Muriate or Sulphate of Potash per vine, or 34 lbs. per acre. 

2 oz. Acid Phosphate per vine, or 113 lbs. per acre. 

3 1-3 oz. Nitrate of Soda per vine, or 189 lbs. per acre. 



Food for same time broadcast along the rows Nitrate of Soda at the 

^°^^ rate of 200 pounds per acre. If the plants lose color in spots 

94 late in the season, work into the soil about the vine an 

ounce or so of Nitrate, but this must not be done later than 

midsummer. 

Profitable Fertilization of Grapes. 

Summary of Experiments by Prof. Paul Wagner, Director of Darmstadt 
Agricultural Experiment Station, Darmstadt, Germany. 

Systematic fertilizer experiments with grapes have been 
conducted in this country so rarely that we must seek in- 
formation in this line from foreign experimenters. The 
experiment detailed below was conducted by Professor 
Paul Wagner, of the Darmstadt Agricultural Experiment 
Station, Darmstadt, Germany. The vines were grown 
singly in pots. The fertilizer application in the two pots 
illustrated herewith were at the rate of 3.3 ounces of Nitrate 
of Soda, .6 of an ounce muriate of potash and 2 ounces 
acid phosphate per vine. At the rate of 907 vines per acre 
(vines 6 by 8 feet) this application is the equivalent of 189 
pounds Nitrate of Soda, 113 pounds acid phosphate and 
34 pounds muriate of potash per acre. The accompanying 
illustrations show the growth of vine and also the production 
of fruit from the two pots, and the excellent effect of Nitrate 
of Soda is unmistakably shown. The actual yields of fruit 
were: 

Per Acre. 
Potash and acid phosphate without Nitrate of Soda . . . . 1,024 'bs. 
Potash and acid phosphate with Nitrate of Soda 4,929 

A remarkable point in this experiment was data to show 
the growth of leaf and wood for each 100 pounds of grapes, 
as follows: 

Wood. Leaf. 

With Nitrate, for 100 lbs. grapes 47 lbs. 13 lbs. 

Without Nitrate, for 100 lbs. grapes 119 " 34 

The evidence tends to confirm the belief that insufficient 
or improperly balanced fertilizers produce wood and leaf 
growth often at the expense of the fruit; that is, the mer- 
chantable portion of the crop. In fertilizing grapes the 
phosphate and potash should be applied early in the spring, 
before the vines begin to grow; Nitrate of Soda should be 



Food for 
Plants 

95 




CO 



two 

o 



V 



fcifl 

c 



e 

o 

SI 



*> 
"o 



Food for applied just at the time the vines commence growth in the 

^°*^ spring. A better plan perhaps is to apply the Nitrate in 

96 two doses, one when the vines start growth in the spring, 
the second some time three weeks later. 

Lawns and Golf Links. 

Lawns and Golf Links. Good lawns are simply a 
matter of care and rational treatment. If the soil is very 
light, top-dress liberally with clay and work into the sand. 
In all cases the soil must be thoroughly fined and made 
smooth, as the seed, being very small, require a fine seed 
bed. In the South seed to Bermuda grass or Kentucky 
blue grass; in the North the latter is also a good lawn grass, 
but perhaps a little less desirable than Rhode Island bent 
grass (Agrostis canina). Avoid mixtures, as they give an 
irregularly colored lawn under stress of drouth or early 
frosts or maturity. For Rhode Island bent grass use 50 
pounds of seed per acre, Kentucky blue grass 40 to 45 
pounds, and for Bermuda grass 15 pounds. If for any 
reason the soil cannot be properly prepared, pulverize the 
fertilizer very fine indeed. The grass should be mowed 
regularly and the clippings removed until nearly mid- 
summer when they are best left on the soil as a mulch. 
For a good lawn, broadcast per acre in the spring enough 
of a fertilizer to supply 100 pounds of actual potash and 
50 pounds of available phosphoric acid; also, use at the 
same time and in the same manner a top-dressing of 300 
pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda. By the end of June 
repeat the Nitrate top-dressing, using only 100 pounds 
of the material. At any time through the growing season, 
yellow spots or lands should be given a light top-dressing 
of Nitrate, and thoroughly wet down if possible. Lawns 
are very different from field crops as they are not called 
upon to mature growth in the line of seed productions, and 
they may safely be given applications of Nitrate whenever 
the sickly green color of the grass appears, which shows 
that digestible or Nitrated ammonia is the plant food 
needed. These applications of plant food must be continued 
each year without jfail, and all bare or partly bare spots well 
raked down and reseeded. If absolutely bare, these spots 
should be deeply spaded. On very heavy clay soils, and 
in low situations, a drainage system must be established. 



Food for 
Plants 



97 




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Food for 
Plants 



How Money Crops Feed. 

What the '^^^ substance of plants is largely water 

Food Is ^"^ variations of woody fiber, yet these 

comprise no part of what is commonly 
understood as plant food. More or less by accident was 
discovered the value of farmyard manures and general farm 
refuse and roughage as a means of increasing the growth of 
plants. In the course of time, the supply of these manures 
failed to equal the need, and it became necessary to search 
for other means of feeding plants. The steps in the search 
were many, covering years of careful investigation, and it is 
needless to go into a lengthy description here; but, as a 
result we have the established fact that the so-called food 
of plants consists of three different substances. Ammonia 
(Nitrogen), Potash and Phosphates. 

ItsPrincioal These words are popular names, and 

■Pi^^^^i.^ are used for the convenience of the general 

Nitrate Ammo- P"^^'^' . ^.^ ^ "'^"^'" ^^ ^^^^' plant-food 
nia, Phosphoric ammonia is not rea ammonia, but am- 
Acid Potash monia combined with other elements, yet 

* * the valuable factor is always the ammoniate. 

Nitrate of Soda contains an amount equivalent to about 
nineteen per cent, of ammonia, or 380 pounds to the ton, 
and cotton-seed meal, for example, about nine per cent.; as 
plant food more than two pounds of cotton-seed meal are 
necessary to furnish as much plant food as one pound of 
Nitrate of Soda. We value the plant food on the amount 
of ammoniate it contains, and on this account ammonia has 
become a popular standard name for this element of plant 
food. In like manner. Phosphoric Acid and Potash are 
standards, hence the importance of farmers and planters in 
familiarizing themselves with these expressions. We always 
think of fertilizers and manures as just so much Ammonia, 
Phosphoric Acid and Potash, as we can then at once com- 
pare the usefulness of all fertilizer materials. No doubt 
other substances are necessary for the proper development 
of crops, but soils so generally supply these in ample quan- 
tities that they may safely be neglected in a consideration 
of soil needs and plant foods. The food of plants may 
therefore be understood to mean simply. Ammonia^ Phos- 
phoric Acid and Potash. 



Farmyard manure acts in promoting why Farm- plants*'"' 

plant growth almost wholly because it con- ^^^ Manure ~~ 

tains these three substances; green manur- ^^^ Other ^^ 

ing is valuable for the same reason and Products are 
largely for that only. Various refuse sub- Valuable 
stances, such as bone, wood ashes, etc., 
contain one or more of these plant food elements, and are 
valuable to the farmer and planter on that account. A 
number of crude chemicals contain Ammonia, or Potash, 
or Phosphoric Acid, or some two of these, or even all 
three of the plant food elements, and are valuable to 
agriculture accordingly. In fact, in whatever form, state 
or condition this plant food occurs, crops seem to be able 
to make a more or less ready use of it. However, the 
manufacturer, the farmer and the planter ^jj Three 
must not overlook the fact that all three Elements 
of these elements are needed. No excess indispensable 
of any one, nor of any two, can make up 
for the deficiency of any one. To illustrate, should a 
soil be given enough Phosphoric Acid and Potash for a 
crop of 80 bushels of corn per acre, but only enough Nitrate 
Ammonia for 40 bushels, the yield cannot go above 40 
bushels. The chain is no stronger than its weakest link. 

The Quality of Manures and Fertilizers. 

While plant food is always plant food. Nitrate a 
like all other things it possesses the limita- Pre-dieested 
tion of quality. Quality in plant food means Ammoniate. 
the readiness with which plants can make 
use of it. In a large sense, this is dependent upon the 
solubility of the material containing the plant food — not 
merely solubility in water, but solubility in soil waters as 
well. Fertilizer substances freely soluble in water are 
generally of the highest quality, yet there are differences 
even in this. For example, Nitrate of Soda is freely soluble 
in soil liquids and watery and is the highest grade of plant food 
ammoniate; sulphate of ammonia is also soluble in water, 
but of distinctly lower quality because plants always use 
ammonia in the Nitrated form (the form in which it occurs 
in Nitrate of Soda), and the ammonia in sulphate of am- 
monia must be Nitrated before plants can make use of it. 



Food for Xhis is done in the soil by the action of certain organisms, 

^°^^ T% r i. J under favorable conditions. The weather 
Defects and , 111 1 • 
i°° , . ., must be suitable, the soil in a certain con- 
Losses in the ... Ill 1 111 
TT r /-v J- dition; and, besides, there are considerable 
Use of Ordinary , r 1 1 1 1 1 1 
. . , losses or valuable substance in the natural 
Ammoniates. ., nvr- • 1 • t> 
sou process ot JNitrating the ammonia. rJy 

unfavorable weather conditions, or very wet or acid soils, 

Nitration may be prevented until the season is too far 

advanced, hence there may be loss of time, crop and money. 

y . . . ,, , The quality of ammoniates, such as 
Intrinsic Values ^ . -^ , , • , r 1 1 • 1 1 1 1 

, . . , cotton-seed meal, dried hsh, dried blood, 

of Ammoniates , .,.'.,, ,• • 

^ , tankage, etc., is limited by conditions some- 

„. ,, what similar to those influencing sulphate 

c,. J J or ammonia, except that the crude materials 

Standard. 1 ui • -its/- l u 

are not even soluble in water. With these 

substances, the loss of Nitrogen in its natural soil conversion 

into Nitrate is very great. Perfectly authentic experiments 

and made under official supervision, have shown that lOO 

pounds of ammonia in these organic forms have only from 

one-half to three-fourths the manurial value of 100 pounds 

of Nitrate Ammonia in its Nitrated form of Nitrate of Soda. 

_, , , This matter of fertilizer quality is not 

Phosphates, r ^ r» 1 1 

_, , , conhned to ammoniates. rotash also must 

be in soluble form, but as most agricultural 
potash is in the shape of potash salts, all of which are water 
soluble, the solubility of potash is not a problem in manur- 
ing. However, there are grades even in these salts. For 
some crops materials containing muriates are thought to be 
injurious, therefore potash in such forms as are free of 
chlorine or muriates are of higher grade than those containing 
chlorine. 

Special Functions of Plant Food. 

. As stated before, plants must have all 

^ ^. , three — Nitrate, Phosphates and Potash — 

Functions of r 1 1 r j 1 L • u 

^. of the plant rood elements, but notwith- 

standing this imperative need, each of the 
three elements has its special use. This may seem of little 
importance if for mere growth all three must be used in any 
event. However, there are many cases in which considera- 
tions of the special functions of plant food elements become 



important. For example, a soil may be rich in organic Food for 

ammonia from vegetable matter turned under as green ^^^°^^ 

manure, and through a late wet spring fail to supply the loj: 

available Nitrate in time to get the crop well started before 

the hot, dry summer season sets in. In this case the use of 

a Nitrate ammoniate alone in the highly available form, 

such as Nitrate of Soda, will force growth to the extent of 

fully establishing the crop against heat and moderate drouth. 

This method of manuring is simply Top-Dressing, familiar 

to us all, but which many of us do not fully understand. 

In like manner, if the soil is too rich in tt * a a 
, . , , . , Use of Acid 

organic ammoniate, which during the sum- p, , , 

mer months rapidly becomes available, and 
as the fall approaches, the crop fails to show signs of manur- 
ing, liberal top-dressing of acid phosphate will hasten 
the maturity of the crop. All soils contain more or less 
plant food as a natural condition, but this plant food is 
rarely economically balanced for the uses of the farmer or 
planter. If crops show a tendency to lodge badly, potash 
is needed. In many ways, in fact, the special functions of 
the plant food elements are important, and should have the 
careful attention of those who have to deal with the plant 
food problem. There is no "royal road" to the under- 
standing of the fertilizer or manure questions; they must 
be "worked out." 

Nitrated ammonia as plant food seems o • i t « 

. ^ 11111 Special Influ- 

to intiuence more especially the develop- r t^t.. . 

p I "^ 1 '1 1 eiice 01 IN urate 

ment ot stems, leaves, roots, etc., while the t^j-ui -ir i 

^ r r • 1 1 • 1 1 1 • on Edible Value 

formation oi iruit buds is held in reserve; <: pi ^ 

in fact, the growth of the framework of the 
plant. This action is of course a necessary preliminary to 
the maturity of the plant, and the broader the framework 
the greater the yield at maturity. The color of the foliage 
is deepened, indicating health and activity in the forces at 
work on the structure of the plant. Nitrates also show 
markedly in the economic value of the crop; the more 
freely Nitrates are given to plants the greater the relative 
proportion in the composition of the plant itself, and the 
most valuable part of all vegetable substance for food pur- 
poses at least, is that containing the greatest proportion of 
combined and modified ammonia. 



Food for 
~' Plants 



Potash as plant food seems to influence more particularly 

the development of the woody parts of stems and the pulp 

of fruits. It is also essential to the formation of sugar and 

xx-.^, Tvr:*^«4. starch. The flavor and color of fruits is 

How Nitrate i t r l • i 

j^ -D also credited to potash. In tact, this ele- 

Supplemented T^"^ ^f" plant food seems to supplement 
bv Potash ^ action of Nitrogen by filling out the 

framework established by the latter. Potash 
with Nitrate is always an important fertilizer with special 
crops where the object is to produce sugar, starch, or other 
products usually more or less a result of the manufacture 
of agricultural produce. 

How Nitrate Phosphoric Acid as a plant food seems 

Mav Be Aided ^° influence more particularly the maturity 

u.r Ttu^^^u :« of plants, and the production of seed or 

by Pnospnoric v ,' • i i • -i • r 

A ■, grain. It seems to aid the assimilation or 

the other plant food elements. Its special 
use in practical agriculture is to help hasten the maturity of 
crops likely to be caught by an early fall, and to supple- 
ment green manuring where grain is to be grown. It seems 
to be used in excess in commercial fertilizers, because it is 
prone to take insoluble and therefore unavailable forms in 
the soil. 

The natural plant food of the soil comes from many 
sources, but chiefly from decaying vegetable matter and the 
weathering of the mineral matter of the soil. Both these 
Sources of processes are somewhat slow except under 

Natural Plant l^'Y f^^orable conditions and both supply 
■Pqqa rotash and Phosphoric Acid, but only the 

former supplies Nitrate. Whether the soil 
has been fertilized or not, there are certain signs which 
indicate the need of plant food more or less early in the 
growth of the crop. If a crop appears to make a slow 
How They May growth, or seems sickly in color, it does not 
Be SuDDle- greatly matter whether the soil is deficient 

mented with ^^ Nitrate or simply that the ammoniates 

p go^ present have not been Nitrated and so are 

not available; the remedy lies in top-dress- 
ings of the immediately available form of Nitrated ammo- 
niate, of which class of plant food materials Nitrate of Soda 
alone is commercially available. 



Top-Dressings. Pints''' 

Top-Dressing, as commonly understood, ^^^, Growth '°^ 
means simply the application of plant food . Plants 

after seeding, and after the crop has made 
some growth. It has various objects, but chief among 
them is the fact that fall sown crops should make an early 
start in the spring in order to establish an extensive root 
system (foraging both for food and water), and to protect 
the soil by shading before the hot, dry days come. The 
earlier growth of crops is largely a matter of Nitrate plant 
food, but in the spring the soil is usually wet and cold, both 
conditions unfavorable for the action of organisms which 
convert the stored ammoniate plant food into the Nitrates. 

A very late spring may prevent the natural and usual 
Nitration of this kind of plant food, though tt Nitrate 
large quantities may have been applied in Saves Time 
the form of organic ammoniates and other -^Q^^y ^nd the 
crude manures, so that the warm weather rj-oo 
finds the crop very backward and a full 
crop cannot be made. An application of Nitrate of Soda, 
the most quickly available form of ammoniate plant food 
in commercial use as a fertilizer, as soon as the crop shows 
the fresh green color of new growth in the springs prevents 
this loss of time and establishes the crop so as to resist drouth 
and reach and make use of the plant food necessary for the 
maturity of its stalk and the ripening of its seed. 

Top-Dressings are also made to advan- 

tage on fruits and vegetables from which the _ . 

• Fruits 

proportion of valuable produce to stalk or 

vine is so great. With these crops there must be no check 

in the regular growth of the plants, and Nitrate of Soda 

alone insures this. With other forms of ammoniate plant 

food, rains or cool weather interfere with tt ii 

the regular supply of Nitrate by checking Ammoniates are, 

the action of the organisms which cause the , jfecessitv 

Nitration of crude ammoniate substances, j^jti-ated and 

Top-dressings are also used on very rolling slowness of 

lands, in which case the hill tops show ., Process 

lighter colored foliage in prolonged periods 

of dry weather, and light applications of Nitrate of Soda 

are found to be profitable. 



Food for On heavy clay soils, spring working is impracticable, 

^^^"^^ as it results in puddling the top soil. In this case fertilizers 

^°4 cannot be worked into the soil even for spring planting, 
and Nitrate of Soda is used in the form of a top-dressing 
spread broadcast; Phosphoric Acid and Potash are usually 
applied in the fall for such soils. 

XT - q. In top-dressing soils, it is very impor- 

_. tant to secure an even application over the 

whole area. As the ordinary application 
per acre is about lOO pounds, it is difficult to get an even 
distribution unless the bulk of the material is increased. 
The best method of doing this is to crush the Nitrate of 
Soda thoroughly, and mix carefully with about three times 
its weight of fine dry loam. This mixture should be made 
immediately before using, though the Nitrate may be 
crushed at any time if mixed at once with an equal bulk of 
fine, clean sand and tightly packed in bags. In the latter 
case, just before using, mix with an equal weight of dry loam. 
Where top-dressings are made with a machine, it is necessary 
that the mixture be dry, so that the feeders will not clog. 



Top-Dressing Experiments. 

Results of T^^e official Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

Nitrate on tions have made many experiments to 

■M^^^,r n^^^^ determine the value of top-dressings of 

Money Crops. ,,. r n ^ • i i i tvt 

Nitrate or boda, particularly the New 

Jersey Station. The work of this Station demonstrated the 
profit value of Nitrate top-dressing on various fruits and 
vegetables. The Rhode Island Experiment Station made (see 
Bulletin 71) a top-dressing test on grass land and the results 
also indicated a profitable use of this chemical fertilizer. 

The experiment was made on three plots, all of which 
were treated with ample quantities of Phosphoric Acid and 
Potash. One plot received no Nitrate, one plot a top- 
dressing of 150 pounds per acre, and the remaining plot a 
top-dressing of 450 pounds of Nitrate per acre. The seed 
used was one-quarter red clover, one-quarter redtop, and one- 
half timothy. The yield in barn-cured hay was as follows: 

No Nitrate i . 60 tons. 

150 lbs. Nitrate 2.24 tons. 

450 lbs. Nitrate 3 28 tons. 



The season was not good hay weather on account of an Food for 
early and severe drouth, yet the top-dressing of 150 pounds ^^^°^^ 
of Nitrate of Soda per acre increased the crop of hay 40 per ^05 
cent., and the top-dressing of 450 pounds gave an increase 
of 105 per cent. In summarizing the results the Station 
reports that in spite of weather so unfavorable that there was 
practically no second crop, a top-dressing of l^O pounds of 
Nitrate of Soda per acre increased the crop in value $6.g^, 
at a cost for Nitrate of $J.J0; a top-dressing of /f^O pounds per 
acre increased the value of the crop $i6.g8 at a cost of $g.go. 



Plant Food Needs of Crops. 

The chemical analysis of plants shows ttt-i. i. r^ 

, , r ^ • 11 What Crops 

the actual amounts or ammonia, potash and t, , . , 

, , . -11 • 1 • lake out or 

phosphoric acid they contain, and is a ^ ., 

fairly good guide for the composition of 
fertilizers. The value of plant food, so called, is not solely 
through its use as simple food, but at the same time there 
is a fair degree of uniformity in the fertilizer needs of 
plants as shown by their chemical analysis. At least it 
is the only practical method of comparison we have. In 
an examination of the fertilizer requirements of plants 
by studying their analysis, we must keep in mind the fact 
that the whole plant must be considered — not only the 
grain, straw, etc., but also the stubble and roots. While it 
is true the stubble and roots remain in the soil, there is 
invariably a considerable loss in the process of transforming 
crude fertilizing substances into available forms. 

The Storrs Experiment Station of Connecticut reported 
on an experiment with timothy hay, with results as follows: 

Yield per acre. Ammonia (Nitrogen). Potash. Phos. Acid. 

Hay 3,980 lbs. 39.0 lbs. 51.5 lbs. 13.9 lbs. 

Stubble and roots. . 8,223 " 90.1 " 55 -^ " 25.2 " 

Total 12,203 ^bs. 129. 1 lbs. 107.3 'bs. 39.1 lbs. 

The quantities of plant food actually e ' 1 t 

contained in the crop, computed to the best ^ ... , 

, c -i- ^ '. , ^ , Quantity of 

known lertilizer materials, are represented to^.. ^ t^ j 

,0 J r AT- r o^ 1 Nitrate Food, 

by 007 pounds of JNitrate of Soda, 215 

pounds of muriate of potash, and 280 pounds of acid- 



Food for phosphate. This illustration is interesting as showing the 
•^^^"^^ really heavy consumption of plant food by ordinary farm 
^°^ crops. While the yield in this case is a large one, it is 
precisely such yields all farmers are striving for. It is 
probably true that an acre application of 800 pounds of 
Nitrate of Soda would not give a profitable return with this 
crop; but such crops actually make use of soil Nitrogen and 
the roughage of the farm, and to do this most effectively, 
top-dressings of Nitrate are advised to "start the crop off" 
in the spring. 

In actual farming operations, the greater part of the 
timothy crop will be returned to the soil in the form of 
farmyard manure, much of which will be applied in the fall. 
A considerable portion of the ammoniate (Nitrogen) con- 
tained in this manure will be converted into Nitrate during 
the fall and winter, and such of this as the plants fail to 
take up is dissipated by the spring rains and other causes. 
Consequently, there is a lack of Nitrate Ammoniate in the 
early spring, when the plants most need it, and this shortage 
continues until the soil warms and becomes less charged 
with water, when the organisms of the soil are enabled to 
convert the vegetable substance containing ammonia into 
the form suitable for the uses of the plants. Until this 
action, the plants really starve for Nitrate; a situation 
instantly relieved by top-dressings of Nitrate of Soda. 

T. i. TM J t- The following table shows the plant food 
Part Played by » , ^ 

•KT-i. X • T>i i. necessary to accompany each 100 pounds 
Nitrate in Plant - ■' ,^^. ^ ■' . ••111 

«. . . or ammonia (iNitrogen) assimilated by 

crops figured on a fair yield per acre : 

p Ammonia( Nitrogen). Potash. Soda. Phos Acid. 

^^^' Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 

Barley 100 74 — 25 

Buckwheat 100 59 — 2i 

Corn 100 55 — 48 

Oats 100 93 — 33 

Wheat 100 43 9 34 

Onions 100 83 — 42 

Potatoes 100 132 2 38 

Rye 100 72 — 42 

Timothy 100 69 7 26 

The figures of the table are based on the complete crop, 
including stalks, straw, vines, etc. The table shows roughly 



the proportions which various crops store within their ^^^'^ ^^^ 

substance of the three elements of plant food; in estimating ^^^^^^ 
the composition of a fertilizer for any of these crops, the ^°7 
table serves as a suggestion. 

Suggestions for Top-Dressing Crops. 

It must be understood that fertilizers do not take the place 
of tillage. However thoroughly a crop may he fertilized, with- 
out proper preparation of the soil the result must he more or 
less a failure. In top-dressing it is very important that the 
Nitrate of Soda he thoroughly ground, that an even distrihu- 
tion can be made; the fertilizer must go to the plant, not the 
plant to the fertilizer. 

The Alfalfa, Cow Pea and Clover Question. 

This class of plants has the property of taking -rj -: 

inert ammonia (Nitrogen") from the air and t 

r • • • 1 • • 1 Legumes, 

transtormmg it mto combmations more or less 

useful as plant food. This feature is of great value to 
agriculture, but not so much from the plant food point of 
view as from the fact that these plants are rich in that kind 
of food substance commonly called "flesh formers." 
Liberally fertilized, and not omitting Nitrate in the fertilizer, 
we have a crop containing more Nitrogenous food (protein 
or flesh formers) than the Nitrogen actually given as fertil- 
izer could have made by itself. The most common plants of 
this class are: alfalfa, alsike clover, crimson clover, red 
clover, Japan clover, cow peas, lupines, Canadian field peas, 
the vetches, etc. All these forage crops should be sown 
after clean culture crops. The best method of fertilizing 
is to apply from 300 to 500 pounds of fertilizer, in the early 
autumn, and every autumn; in the spring, top-dress with 
200 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, and repeat with about 
100 pounds after each cutting. It is true that clovers may 
supply their own ammoniate plant food, but this is an 
experiment experienced farmers do not often repeat. A fair 
green crop of clover, for example, removes from the soil 
some 160 pounds of ammonia, while in 500 pounds of 
Nitrate of Soda there are less than 100 pounds. Undoubtedly, 
the ammonia taken from the air is a great aid, but we 



Food for should not expect too much of it. The method of seeding 

^°^^ clovers depends much upon locaHty and soil needs with 

i°S reference to previous crops. Crimson clover and Canadian 

field peas are usually sown in August, after earlier crops 

have been removed, or even in corn fields. Red clover is 

commonly sown in the spring on wheat or with oats. 



Cost of Transportation of Fertilizers. 

A striking illustration of the difference in the cost of trans- 
portation by four different ways is given by Representative 
Brownlow, of Tennessee, in a recent speech before Congress. 
Mr. Brownlow is the author of the bill asking for national 
aid to road improvement and in support of the measure he 
gave the following table which is based on the most careful 
estimates: 

Cost of Transportation Per Ton. 

Horse power, 5 miles i?i . 25 

Electric power, 25 miles 'f • 25 

Steam cars, 250 miles i . 25 

Steamships on the lakes i ,000 miles ^ • 25 

It will be seen that the same amount of money it takes 
to haul a given amount of produce five miles on a public 
highway of the United States will pay the freight for 250 
miles on a railroad and 1,000 miles on a steamship line on the 
lakes. This is too great a difference as will be admitted by 
all, and when we think of the fact that the railroad companies 
are ever at work repairing and improving their highways 
while the farmer is apparently so little awake to his own inter- 
ests in regard to furnishing himself with better roads we 
wonder why it is. The lesson seems plain and clear and 
as farmers let us continue to aid the good road movement 
throughout the country. 

Nitrate of Soda is essentially a seaboard article; at the 
present time facilities for supplies at interior points have not 
been provided. 

In ordering Nitrate of Soda make the request that in the 
event of purchasing, that it be sent as "Fertilizer," and that 
it be marked "For Fertilizing Purposes." It has been the 
custom of the railroad companies to discriminate heavily 
against Nitrate of Soda by charging almost prohibitory 



rates, and it is hoped by correctly designating the material p°°^^g^°^ 
the discrimination will not be practiced. 



109 



RETABULATION SHOWS THAT: 

$1.25 Will Haul a Ton — 

5 miles on a common road, 
I2§ to 15 miles on a well-made stone road, 
25 miles on a trolley road, 
250 miles on a steam railway, 
1,000 miles on a steamship. 

Farm newspapers generally are quite willing to publish 
wholesale quotations on all those things which the farmer 
has to sell, and they have not, as a rule, published wholesale 
quotations on those articles which he has to buy. Among 
the' latter, agricultural chemicals occupy a position of prime 
importance, not only as to actual effect on farm prosperity, 
but as to the actual amount of cash which the farmer has to 
spend, for his produce comes out of the soil and its amount 
and quality is determined by the character of the chemicals 
he puts in it. Agricultural journals generally, which profess 
to be friends of the farmer should make a continued effort 
in the direction of enhancing his purchasing power, by 
endeavoring to make him more prosperous. This cannot 
be done under old conditions of helping to make him, at 
the outset, pay such a large bonus for agricultural chemicals 
under one pretext or another. 

As Nitrate is a powerful plant tonic and energizer, it is 
NOT a stimulant tn any sense of the word; a very small 
quantity does a very large amount of work. Evenly Top- 
Dress by broadcasting the Nitrate as soon as the frost 
leaves the ground in the spring, or as soon as verdure 
first appears. 

I never recommend the use of Nitrate of Soda alone, 
except at the rate of not more than one hundred (100) pounds 
to the acre, when it may be used without other fertilizers. 
The phosphatic and potassic manures should usually be 
applied in connection with Nitrate of Soda at the rate of 
about two hundred and fifty (250) pounds to the acre of each. 
A rate of one hundred pounds (100) per acre you will 



no 



Food for generally find profitable for all crops. It will be found 
Plants . . . • . 

quite satisfactory also in its after-effect in perceptibly sweet- 
ening sour land. 

Orange Groves. 

An orange that weighs a pound would sell in New York 
for a dime. When it takes six to weigh a pound they are 
worthless. 

Satisfactory results have been obtained in Florida by 
fertilizing during the cold season. About two months 
before the period of growth begins, apply for each full 
grown tree a mixture of 7 pounds of high-grade super- 
phosphate and 7 pounds of sulphate of potash, by working 
it in the soil; after which one pound of Nitrate of Soda 
may be sown on the surface. In order to accomplish this 
application economically, it is well to mix the Nitrate with 
two or three times the quantity of fine, dry soil before 
applying. The working of the soil must jiot be so deep or 
thorough as to start the growth of the tree. An excess of 
Nitrate is to be avoided, but the amount mentioned is not 
too much. All other ammoniates on the market must be 
converted into Nitrate by weathering and the action of the 
soil bacteria before they can possibly be available for plant 
food. Nitrate of Soda is a pre-digested ammoniate, and 
while there is some danger of loss by leaching, this is easily 
avoided by the use of small and frequent applications. 
With sulphate of ammonia the danger is much greater, as 
it must be converted into Nitrate before it is available as 
food, and during this comparatively long process may all be 
lost by rains and leaching. 

Dried blood, cotton-seed meal and all other ammoniates, 
if used in such quantities as to afford an adequate supply 
of Nitrate, may cause die-back. No disease results from 
the proper use of Nitrate of Soda. Besides the possible 
losses indicated, when other ammoniates are used, there is 
an actual loss of Nitrogen during the process of Nitration, 
and all ammoniates must undergo Nitration— must be 
Nitrated before living trees or plants will feed on them. 
From six weeks to two months after the above appli- 



cations Nitrate may be used again as above indicated. If ^*^°^ ^°^ 

• • Plants 
desirable, two to three months later a further appHcation 

of one and a half pounds of Nitrate of Soda and potash "^ 

may be made. In the case of your particular soil, it may 

well be that it is sufficiently rich in potash, and therefore, 

may not require a large application of it. In any event, the 

grower must be governed by the condition of his grove 

and the general character of soil and climate in his particular 

locality. 

Strawberries. 

Prof. W. F. Massey (all farmers know him) writes: "I 
top-dressed an old strawberry bed in its fifth year of bearing 
with 300 pounds Nitrate of Soda per acre. I had intended 
ploughing it up the previous summer as it was in an exhausted 
condition and foul with white clover and sorrel. 

"The effect was amazing, for this bed of an acre and a 
quarter, from which I expected almost nothing, gave seven 
thousand quarts of berries." 

This plant requires a moist soil, but not one water- 
logged at any time of the year. A light clay loam, or a 
sandy loam, is preferable. There are several methods of 
cultivation, but the matted row is generally found more 
profitable than the plan of growing only in hills. While 
some growers claim that one year's crop is all that should 
be harvested before ploughing down for potatoes, as a 
matter of fact the common practice is to keep the bed for 
at least two harvests. In selecting plants care should be 
exercised to see that pistillate plants are not kept too much 
by themselves, or the blossoms will prove barren. The crop 
is a heavy consumer of plant food, and the soil cannot be 
made too rich. Farmyard manure should never be used 
after the plants are set out, as the weed seeds contained 
therein will give much trouble, especially as the horse hoe 
is of little use in the beds. Use from 400 to 800 pounds 
of phosphate, applied broadcast immediately after harvest; 
in the spring, as soon as the strawberry leaves show the 
bright, fresh green of new growth, apply broadcast 200 
pounds Nitrate of Soda to the acre. 



Food for Table Showing Prices of Nitrate of Soda 

Plants 

on the Ammoniate Basis. 



Figured on Basis of 380 Pounds Ammonia in One 
Ton of Nitrate of Soda. 



Price per 
Cwt. of 

Nitrate. 


Price per 
Ton of 
Nitrate. 


Price 
Ammonia 
per lb as 
Nitrate. 


Equivalent 

Price 

Ammonia 

per Ton unit. 


Equivalent 

Cost of 

Nitrogen 

per lb. 


$1.85 


$37.00 


$0,097 


$1.95 


$0,118 


1.90 


38.00 


0.100 


2.00 


0.122 


1.95 


39.00 


0.103 


2.05 


0.125 


2.00 


40.00 


0.105 


2.10 


0.128 


2.05 


41.00 


0.108 


2.16 


0.131 


2.10 


42.00 


0.111 


2.21 


0.134 


2.15 


43.00 


0.113 


2.26 


0.137 


2.20 


44.00 


0.116 


2.31 


0.140 


2.25 


45.00 


0.118 


2.37 


0.144 


2.30 


46.00 


0.121 


2.42 


0.147 


2.35 


47.00 


0.124 


2.47 


0.150 


2.40 


48.00 


0.126 


2.53 


0.153 


2.45 


49.00 


0.129 


2.58 


0.156 


2.50 


50.00 


0.132 


2.63 


0.159 


2.55 


51.00 


0.134 


2.68 


0.162 


2.60 


52.00 


0.137 


2.73 


0.165 


2.65 


53.00 


0.140 


2.78 


0.168 


2.70 


54.00 


0.143 


2.83 


0.173 



This table enables one to compare commercial quota- 
tions on ammoniates with accuracy. The figures themselves 
are not quotations in any sense of the word, and all the 
figures of the table refer only to one grade of Nitrate of 
Soda, namely: that containing 15.65 per cent, of Nitrogen, 
equivalent to 19.00 per cent, of ammonia. It is prepared 
merely in order that purchasers may compare the price of 
Nitrate of Soda which is always quoted by the hundred 
pounds, with the other ammoniates, which are quoted by 
the ton unit. In the first column, therefore, are given the 
prices per hundred weight of Nitrate of Soda; in the second 



column, the corresponding prices per ton; in the third ^^od for 
column, the cost of the contained ammonia per pound, a ^°^^ 
figure which is always discussed, but almost never explained ^^3 
in Station Bulletins; in the fourth column, the equivalent 
price of the Ammonia per ton unit, and in the fifth column, 
gives the corresponding prices of the cost of the Nitrogen 
per pound, a figure also much discussed, but not explained 
in Bulletins. The important figures to remember are the 
price per hundred weight, the price per ton and the equiv- 
alent price of the ammonia in the Nitrate per ton unit. The 
table is prepared to cover fluctuations in price running from 
one dollar and eighty cents per hundred, to two dollars and 
seventy cents per hundred; or from thtrty-six dollars, to fifty- 
four dollars per ton. 



From New Jersey Agricultural 
Experiment Station. 

Bulletin 172. 

The Use of Fertilizers. A Review of the Results of 
Experiments with Nitrate of Soda. 



Professor Edward B. Voorhees. 



The Use of Fertilizers. 



Great gains have been made in the past few years in our 
knowledge of the necessity of using, and in the methods of 
use of, commercial fertilizers. A point of primary impor- 
tance that has been learned is that their application is neces- 
sary for the most profitable culture of many of the crops 
grown, not only in the East and South, but also in sections 
of the country where it was formerly believed that the 
natural fertility of the soil would suffice for many genera- 
tions. Their use has spread from the States of the East 
and South to those of the Middle and Northwest and Pacific 
slope — Wisconsin, Colorado, Minnesota and California now 
use many tons annually. The question as to the need of 
fertilizer settled, the next in importance is how to use the 



Food for materials containing- the essential plant-food elements in 

^ such a manner as to contribute to the best growth and devel- 

^^4 opment of the plants under the wide variety of conditions 

that exist, and thus secure the largest financial return from 

their application. 

„.^ ^, ,j While the three constituents — Nitrogen, 

Nitrogen Should , , • -j j i u 

_, . -, . , phosphoric acid and potash — are ail essen- 

Receive Special • i l n r ii i 

.^^ ,. tial, because all are liable to exhaustion, 

Attention. tvt- • , i i u • 

JNitrogen is the one that should receive more 

careful attention than the others, first, because it is the most 
expensive of the three to supply. Nitrogen is more expen- 
sive than either phosphoric acid or potash, largely because 
it costs more to produce it. The great natural deposits of 
phosphates in America and other countries make the possi- 
bilities of their exhaustion very remote; besides, the com- 
parative ease of mining, combined with the facilities with 
which these phosphates may be converted into superphos- 
phates, materially reduces the cost of immediately available 
phosphoric acid. In the case of potash, the vast deposits 
of Germany furnish unlimited quantities of crude material, 
which are readily converted into concentrated salts of potash, 
free from deleterious substances, and which furnish potash 
in immediately available forms, and, because of their high 
content of the essential element, the transportation charges 
are relatively low per unit of constituent. Nitrogen, on the 
other hand, is less abundant, and even though found in the 
form of Nitrate of Soda as a natural deposit, the quantity is 
limited in extent, as compared with the deposits of phosphates 
and potash salts. The location of the deposits in a barren 
country makes it more expensive, too, to concentrate and to 
remove impurities, and even when in its most concentrated 
commercial form, it is comparatively bulky, as compared with 
the manufactured potash salts, thus increasing the cost of 
transportation per unit of the constituent. 

Second, because Nitrogen exists in three forms — as 
organic matter, as ammonia and as Nitrate — and which 
differ widely in their rate of availability or immediate use- 
fulness to the plant. The Nitrogen in the first and most 
common form (organic) generally undergoes a change into a 
Nitrate before plants can make a large use of it; this change 
requires a longer or shorter time, according to the character 
of the material. If, therefore, we desire a large and reason- 



ably quick use of the constituent when appHed in organic ^°°'^ ^^r 
materials, it is necessary, first, to select those likely to change 
rapidly, and second, to depend upon favorable weather con- ^^5 
ditions — i.e., warm and moist — in order that a rapid change 
into soluble and available forms can take place, and thus 
permit the plant to obtain its nitrogenous food — that is, it is 
possible, in the use of these forms, which must undergo a 
change, to get very meagre returns, though an amount is 
applied largely exceeding that necessary for the crop, either 
because the Nitrogen may have been in such combination 
as to strongly resist decay, or the season may have been such 
as to render the change, in even high-grade materials, so slow 
as to prevent the plant from obtaining a sufficient amount to 
meet its demands. The second, or ammonia, form of Nitro- 
gen is immediately soluble, and is readily distributed in the 
soil by means of the soil water; it is then fixed until changed 
into the Nitrate {orm,which takes place rapidly under average 
seasonal conditions, though an appreciable time must inter- 
vene between the date of its application and the time it can 
be used. In the case of the third form, the Nitrate, no condi- 
tions modify its availability; it is readily soluble, and imme- 
diately distributes itself by means of the soil water every- 
where in the soil, and as it comes in contact with the roots 
of the plants is at once absorbed by them, and continues to 
be absorbed until used up, or so long as there is sufficient 
moisture in the soil to cause activity in the plant itself. The 
availability of the Nitrogen in the various materials may, 
therefore, range from practically nil to lOO per cent., making 
the matter of selection of material exceedingly important. 

In the third place, because Nitrogen, in this immediately 
available form, is so readily soluble and so completely carried 
in the soil water, there is danger of its loss by leaching — that 
is, while there is no question as to the usefulness of this form 
of Nitrogen — i.e.. Nitrate — so far as its absorption by the 
plant is concerned, the best results are not always obtained 
from its use, because advantage is not taken of its peculiar and 
valuable characteristics; it is completely soluble in the soil 
water and distributes itself readily everywhere in the soil, 
and wherever it comes in contact with the feeding rootlets 
it is bound to be taken up, hence, when the applications are 
not properly adjusted, there may be an abnormal and inferior 
development of plant, because of too large a use of Nitrogen, 



Food for Qj-^ 2LS it forms no fixed compounds in the soil, there may be a 

^" ^ loss from leaching into the drains when applied previous to 

^^6 the growth of the plant or in too large quantities at the 

wrong time. 

In the fourth place, it should receive careful attention, 

because its right use as a Nitrate — its most available form — 

permits, not only an economical utilization by the plant, but 

a control of its growth ; it may be used in such a way as to 

change the natural tendency, and thus improve it for specific 

uses; thus, in addition to the increase in yield which it may 

cause, tt enhances the market value of the plant. 

T,, , . . ., As already pointed out, the mineral ele- 
Phospnoric Acid -^ S i i i • • i 

, p , ments — potash and phosphoric acid — are 

j..^ r relatively cheap as compared with Nitrogen. 

^. In the case of potash, the availability of the 

different forms in which it is usually ob- 
tained is not a matter of great importance, since all forms 
are soluble in water, distribute freely in the soil and are 
readily absorbed by plants, while in the case of phosphoric 
acid the soluble and immediately available forms contained 
in superphosphates may be obtained quite as cheaply as many 
of the insoluble forms, as animal bone and tankage, which are 
not so immediately useful; besides, these mineral elements, 
however soluble when applied, are fixed by the soil, and are 
thus not liable to rapid loss by leaching. When the farmer 
applies the "minerals," or materials containing potash or 
phosphoric acid in their best forms, his initial expenditure 
is not so great as for an equal amount of Nitrogen; besides, 
he can depend upon their presence there during the growing 
season, and also that the plants can make use of the constitu- 
ents; if the one season's growth of the plant does not use the 
entire amount supplied, the residues will remain for future 
crops, though they may be less readily acquired by them. 
These conditions are quite different from those obtaining 
when available nitrogenous materials are used, and are the 
basis of the suggestions frequently made to furnish the soil 
with an excess of the minerals, but adjust the Nitrogen to 
the needs of the plant. 

A very important thing to remember in the application 
of Nitrogen, however, is that, though it may appear very 
efficient, it cannot fulfill all the conditions of a complete 
fertilizer — it is not a complete food in itself; it is only an 



element of food, and its value as an element is measured ^0°^ ^o*" 
largely by the content of minerals in the xv, -r + tt f ^°*^ 

• i • 1 1 • 1 • 1 Xil6 ij6St U S6 01 TIT 

soil, with which It must associate and com- ^. ^^7 

bine, in order to fully meet the food needs of 

, Tj / Tvy . quires an 

plants. Hence, where JNitrogen in any ,, , 

J. . J J r •^- ■ Abundance of 

form is recommended as a lertihzer, it _, , . . ., 

,,,, J J, , , ,. Phosphoric Acid 

should be understood that the phosphoric , ^ , , . 

• J J , r L 1 and Potash in 
acid and potash necessary tor the growth , _ .. 

of the crop must either be supplied with it, 
or have been previously applied, or should have existed 
naturally in the soil. On poor soils, therefore, the 
application of the minerals must be made with the 
Nitrogen, while in cases where the soil is naturally 
rich in minerals, if Nitrogen only is added, the crops are 
largely increased, because, by virtue of the presence of 
Nitrogen, they are able to gather the phosphoric acid and 
potash needed from the natural supplies in the soil, previously 
inaccessible to them, because of the deficiency in Nitrogen. 
Under such circumstances, it is a commendable practice to 
use Nitrogen only, as it enables a use of soil constituents, 
which are of no service while in the soil. The fear that such 
use of Nitrogen will result in an undue exhaustion of phos- 
phoric acid and potash, which is sometimes expressed, is not 
well founded, since, where an increase in crop is caused by 
the use of Nitrogen only, the amounts of phosphoric acid and 
potash removed in the crop would not be relatively greater than 
the amounts removed were some other condition responsible 
for the increased yield. 

The chances of recovering, in the form of produce, the 
minerals used in excess are greater than are the chances of 
recovering all of the Nitrogen used in excess of the needs of the 
plants, or even that used in moderate amounts, because of the 
differences in the fixing power of soils for the different elements 
when in a condition to feed plants. The Nitrogen, when in its 
available form, the Nitrate, does not form again any fixed 
compounds with the soil; hence, if the plant does not take 
it up, it may be lost by virtue of further changes of form, 
which results in its loss as a gas. This applies to the Nitrogen 
in organic and ammonia forms, as ivell as to the Nitrate. 
In the use of Nitrogen, the aim should be to feed the plant; 
in the case of the minerals, excessive quantities may be used, 
as the accumulations are not liable to escape. 



Food for ^ T> ^ In the next place, the best use of Nitrogen 

Plants The Best Returns . .^ ■ j i -l ■ ^^r j ^ ■? ■ ^ j 

, -1 TT r '-5" aitatned when it is applied to soils in £ood 

irom trie U se of 

^^^ ^. . condition, rather than to poor or worn-out 

^i-x • J TTTi soils. The soils to which high-grade ferti- 

Obtained When , . i • i i i i » » 

A 1- J ^ i-> J lizers are applied should possess good ab- 
Apphed to Good K^ ^ . ». , 

SI W II P sorptive and retentive properties, in order 

' _ that the materials applied may be retained 

pared for Crops, r ^ r i j i i • i 

for the use oi the crop, and the physical 

character also should be such as to permit a ready penetra- 
tion of heat and an easy circulation of water- — conditions which 
are essential in order that the activities within the soil may 
be unimpeded, thus making it possible for the plants to easily 
obtain their needed food. In too many cases good plant- 
food is wasted because applied to mixtures of sand, clay and 
other materials, rather than to soils in the true sense, or to 
soils that have not been thoroughly prepared, the clods and 
lumps preventing a proper distribution of the material, as 
well as a ready absorption of moisture and free circulation 
of the plant-food. 
Th "K" d f Whether it will pay to use any one or more 

^ -. fertilizer constituents is a question that can- 

Crop an Impor- , i • • i i i 

r^^ . not be answered positively, except by the 

T^ ^ . . ^, person who uses them. 1 he relation oi the 

Determining the ^ ^ , - ... , , r i • 

. . ,^ 7 cost or the fertilizer to the value of the in- 
Agricultural , . • i i r j -j 

, ° r ^, creased crop is a variable factor, and, aside 

Value of the r ^ j- • ■ • n j l 

^. from weather conditions, is influenced by 

the availability of the constituents — that 
is, the proportion that a crop can obtain of the amount 
applied, the character and composition of the crop grown, 
and upon the market value of the crop. Because of the facts 
already pointed out in reference to the constituent Nitrogen, 
viz., its cost, its variability in usefulness, and its liability to 
escape in the drains or air, it is of more importance than either 
of the other two in its bearing upon this point. 

For example, the liberal application of materials contain- 
ing Nitrogen to crops which possess a low market value may 
result in a maximum production — that is, as large an increase 
in yield as it is possible to obtain — yet, because the Nitrogen 
is so expensive, the value of the increased yield may not be 
equal to the cost of the Nitrogen applied. On the other hand, 
its application to crops of a high commercial value, though 
not so completely used and not causing so large a propor- 



tionate gain in crop, may result in a large profit, because ^°°^ ^^^ 

the cost of the Nitrogen, though considerable, is relatively a ^" ^ 

small item when compared with the increased value of the "9 
crop obtained from its use. 

It is shown in the experiments conducted with Nitrate of 
Soda, on different crops, that in the case of grain and forage 
crops, which utilized the Nitrate quite as completely as the 
market garden crops, the increased value of crop, due to 
Nitrate, does not in any case exceed ^14.00 per acre, or a 
money return at the rate of ^8.50 per 100 pounds of Nitrate 
used, while in the case of the market garden crops the value 
of the increased yield reaches, in the case of one crop, the 
high figure of over ^263 per acre, or at the rate of about $66 
per 100 pounds of Nitrate. The Nitrate applied was not 
better in the one case than in the other, but in the case of the 
bulky crops the plant required a larger amount of Nitrogen 
to make a unit of crop than in the case of the market garden 
group; besides, it is a crop of low market value — dry hay will 
bring, say, $12 per ton, and a good yield is two tons per acre; 
the market garden group of crops shows a high market value 
— succulent vegetables will bring as much per ton and the 
yield will be five to ten times as great. These relations of 
cost of material applied to value of crop are exceedingly 
important, and should be carefully looked into before plan- 
ning for the purchase of materials. 

In the next place, the form of Nitrogen r i^ • r 
IS very important. Many crops, as, _ . ,, 

tor example, those grown tor early sprmg _ fit h h 
forage or for hay or grain, as rye, wheat, NtoteNitrogen. 
timothy, orchard and other grasses, are 
unable to obtain the Nitrogen from soil sources early enough 
to permit of a rapid and maximum development; the agen- 
cies which promote the activities which cause a change of 
organic forms of Nitrogen into Nitrates are dormant, hence 
an application of Nitrogeh in a completely soluble and imme- 
diately available form supplies the plant with what it needs 
at the time of its greatest need, and great gains in yield are 
made. In the culture of early market garden crops, too, or 
such as are improved in quality, and thus increased in value, 
by virtue of quickness of growth, the Nitrate is of the greatest 
service. Such crops as tomatoes, cabbage, turnips, beet and 
others, in order to be highly profitable, must be grown and 



Food for harvested early, as anyone can grow them in their regular 

^" ^ season; their growth must be promoted or forced as much as 

^^° possible in a season when the natural agencies are not active 

in the change of soil Nitrogen into available forms, and the 

plants must, therefore, be supplied artificially with the active 

forms of Nitrogen, if a rapid and continuous growth is to be 

maintained. Their edible quality is dependent, to a marked 

degree, upon this rapidity of development; hence a supply 

of plant-food in reasonable excess of ordinary demands is 

essential, in order that unfavorable conditions of season may, 

in part at least, be overcome. 

-, T^ • Owing to the fact that Nitrate of Soda is 

Top-Dressings r i ^ r i 11 

f N't t f trequently used after the seed has germm- 

„ , ated and the crop made a partial growth, 

this method of use is referred to as "top- 
dressing" — that is, broadcasting over the entire surface, or, 
in the case of hoed crops, alongside the row. This form of 
Nitrogen is peculiarly adapted for this method of application, 
since it is so completely soluble that but a slight amount of 
moisture is necessary in order to distribute it throughout the 
soil, and, because of its ready availability, it is used by the 
plant as soon as it comes in contact with its roots. It is the 
only form that possesses both these characteristics, and is, 
therefore, to be particularly recommended for those crops 
which need an early and abundant supply of Nitrogen. 

_, ,., T> The aim usually in the use of artificial 

Profits From r -i- 1 1 i- 

, „ , rertilizers is to so supplement soil supplies 

_ ... of plant-food as to obtain a profit, and, as 

fertilizers. ii** ii r r 1 Tm 

already intimated, the profits for the ditter- 

ent crops will, to some extent, be in proportion to their 

economical use of the constituents applied. Still, one should 

not be deterred from the use of fertilizing materials, even if 

the conditions should render the application apparently 

wasteful, or a small recovery of the constituents applied, 

provided the increase in yield will more than pay the cost of 

the application. The farmer should calculate what increase 

in crop is necessary for him to obtain in order to make the use 

of fertilizers profitable, and if only this is obtained, he should 

not condemn their use. Many persons seem to have gotten 

the impression that there is some mystery connected with 

fertilizers, and that their use is a gamble at best, and are not 

satisfied unless the returns from the investment in them are 



Plants 



disproportionately large. We very often hear the statement ^°°^ ^^^ 
that, by the use of certain fertilizers, the crop is doubled or 
tripled, as if this were a remarkable occurrence and partook 
of the nature of a mystery. Such results are not mysterious 
— they can be explained; they are in accordance with the 
principles involved. 

In an experiment on celery it was shown that the weight of 
celery from an application of 400 pounds per acre of Nitrate 
of Soda was two and one-half times greater than that obtained 
on the land upon which no Nitrate was used, and that very 
great profit followed its use. This result, while remarkable 
in a way, was not mysterious; if all the Nitrogen applied had 
been used by the crop, there would have been a still greater 
increase. It simply showed that where no extra Nitrogen 
had been applied the plant was not able to obtain enough 
to make the crop what the conditions of the season and soil, 
in other respects, permitted. In other words, that the soil 
did not contain a complete food; the Nitrogen was necessary 
to supply the deficiency. Favorable conditions are, how- 
ever, not uniform, and variations in return from definite 
applications must be expected. 

It is quite possible to have a return of 1^50 per acre from 
the use of ^5 worth of Nitrate of Soda on crops of high value, 
as, for example, early tomatoes, beets, cabbage, etc. This is 
an extraordinary return for the money invested and labor 
involved; still, if the value of the increased crop from its use 
was but ^10, or even ^8, it should be regarded as a profitable 
investment, since no more land and but little more capital 
was required in order to obtain the extra ^5 or $3 per acre. 
It is the accumulation of these little extras that oftentimes 
change an unprofitable into a profitable practice. 

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS AS A RESULT 
OF EXPERIMENTS. 

I. For Crops of High Commercial Value. 

It is well understood by all market gar- „ , , -> , 
J , •i-L--^iL 1 ^ Market Garden 

deners that, m their busmess, liberal manur- 

ing must be practiced, and that the man- ^ 

ures used must contain an abundance of Nitrogen, that may 

be quickly used by the plant, if rapidity of growth and early 



Food for maturity are to be attained. The experiments with Nitrate 

^" ^ of Soda were, therefore, planned to show in which directions 

^22 the benefits from its use were observed — whether, for ex- 
ample, in the larger yield of a crop of the same general char- 
acter, or whether, together with the larger yield, there was an 
earlier maturity of those crops in which early maturity is an 
important factor, or whether the marketable quality was 
improved, thus returning a larger profit for the same yield, 
or whether all of these factors were involved, and the results 
showed that, as a whole, benefits were obtained in all these 
directions. The more important crops of this class were 
included in these experiments. 

P . ^ , . In the growing of this crop, whose value 

^ may range from ^300 to ^600 per acre, the 

amount of plant-food annually applied is 
usually far in excess of that removed in the crops of any 
year, in order to guarantee against any shortage of food 
should unfavorable weather conditions intervene; the crop 
must be kept growing at all hazards. In good practice an 
application of from fifteen to twenty tons of manure and 
about one ton of a high-grade commercial fertilizer are used 
per acre. The plants are usually grown under glass, and 
transplanted as soon as the land is fit to work. Hence the 
questions asked by the experimenter were, first, whether an 
additional application of Nitrogen in the form of a Nitrate 
would be a profitable practice in connection with this heavy 
application of all of the plant-food constituents, and second, 
how much should be used. The applications, therefore, 
ranged from 400 to 700 pounds per acre. The results from 
the experiments of two years were emphatic in showing an 
increase in yield and a considerable profit each year, and 
though the profits were not in proportion to the amount of 
Nitrogen applied, the largest net returns were obtained from 
the heaviest applications; the average net return per acre 
from 400 pounds was ^24.40, and from 700 pounds, 1^47.55. 
The influence of the Nitrate was noticeable mainly upon the 
earliness of crop. In the first experiment the yield of the 
first picking was 63 per cent, greater from the Nitrated plots 
than from the one upon which no additional Nitrate had been 
added. The extra early yield, for which the highest prices 
were obtained, was increased from 8.3 per cent, on the plot 
on which 400 pounds were added to 12.8 per cent, on the plot 



which received 700 pounds per acre, an increased yield at a ^0°^ ^°^ 

less cost per unit of harvesting — points of great importance. _^"'i! 

The amount used may range from 400 to ,, ^, , ,xt- ^"•^ 

o 1 J J- 1 Method of Using 

800 pounds per acre, dependmg upon the , „. "^ 

conditions, always remembering that the 
richer the soil and the better its condition the larger will be 
the amount of Nitrate that can be used to advantage. The 
beets are usually transplanted, and one-half of the amount 
of Nitrate of Soda used may be applied either before trans- 
planting (as the danger of leaching will not be serious) or 
immediately after, and in about three weeks the balance may " 
be applied. In applying Nitrate after the plants have made 
considerable growth of top, care should be taken to distribute 
it as near as possible between the rows, or, if broadcasted, 
only when the leaves are perfectly dry, so that all of the salt 
may reach the soil, and thus not be liable to injure the 
plants. Where it does not seem practicable to make the 
application of Nitrate of Soda separately, then the Nitrate, 
in the quantity desired, may be mixed with the commercial 
fertilizer and all applied at the same time. This practice 
saves labor and danger of injuring the foliage, though it 
may result in a slight loss of the Nitrate, as it should be ap- 
plied long enough before the plants are set to permit of its 
thorough distribution in the soil. Still, the danger of loss 
is not great, unless the season is so extremely wet as to pre- 
vent cultivation. 

In the case of asparagus, which is a per- . 
ennial, the final results of the experiments 
have not yet been secured, though the experience of prac- 
tical growers is unanimous in favor of its use. This crop, 
as is the case with early beets, requires heavy manuring or 
fertilizing, or both, for the highest profit. The advantage 
of the extra dressings of Nitrate of Soda over other forms of 
Nitrogen lies chiefly in the fact that it may be appropriated 
immediately, either for supplying the needs early in the season 
or to stimulate the growth of tops after cutting has ceased 
and the crowns exhausted. Where manure is used alone 
in liberal amounts, the top-dressing with Nitrate would not 
be likely to be so useful an adjunct as where commercial 
fertilizers, containing high percentages of minerals, have 
been used, as it must be remembered here, as always, that 
Nitrogen is not a complete food, but an element of food, and 



Food for cannot exert its full effect except in the presence of the neces- 

^" ^ sary supply of the mineral elements. 

^^^ -n/r ^1- J r 1^1 the eatlv spring;, as soon as the land is 

Methods of r- i • i i i i i i 

„ . „. ht to cultivate, the beds are ploughed or 

cultivated, throwing the earth away from 

the crowns, and commercial fertilizers, rich in Nitrogen — 

5 to 6 per cent. — are applied, over the row, at the rate of 800 

to 1,000 pounds per acre. The fact that asparagus is a 

perennial, and the growth in the spring depends largely upon 

the food stored up in the roots in the fall, the effect of the 

spring application is not so noticeable in the early cuttings, 

but materially benefits the later cutting. Commercial beds 

are usually cut for about two and one-half months, and this 

long period of continuous removal of shoots reduces the 

vitality of the crowns, and because the vigor of growth and 

size of the tops measures, to a marked degree, the size of the 

next crop, as soon as cutting is finished from 250 to 400 

pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda should be applied. The 

roots immediately absorb this available form of Nitrogen, 

which stimulates and strengthens the plant, and enables it to 

appropriate the excess of minerals which have been applied, 

and, as a consequence, a large, vigorous and healthy growth 

of top is made, which not only results in storing the food 

in the roots for use the next season, but it enables the plant 

to resist the ravages of the rust. There is no other form of 

Nitrogen that can be used or other means by which this 

object can be so readily accomplished as by a liberal supply 

of Nitrate of Soda, and the result is, not only a larger yield, 

but a greater proportion of large shoots, which increases the 

market value of the crop; the growers who practice this 

system have no difficulty in contracting their entire crop 

from year to year at very remunerative prices. 

^ . rj. ^ A careful study of the special needs of plants 

Early Tomatoes. , 1 1 • 1 ^1 

shows that there is no other one crop that 

responds more favorably to the use of immediately available 
Nitrogen than early tomatoes. The influence of the use of 
Nitrate is not only shown in the increase in the yield — in 
some cases practically doubling it — but in the improved 
quality of crop, and because of the larger crop an increased 
maturity is virtually secured. These are all points of ex- 
treme practical importance. The results of all the experi- 
ments conducted in different parts of the country and in 



different seasons show an average gain in yield of about 50 Foo<i ^^^ 

per cent., with an average increased value of crop ot about _^_^ 

$100 per acre. ^^^ 

In the growth of this crop two methods iijgfUQ^g ^f 
are used, depending largely upon the char- pj.„(,4.:-g 
acter of the soil and its previous treatment 
in reference to commercial fertilizers or manures. In the first, 
where the farmyard manure and commercial fertilizers, rich 
in minerals, have been used on previous crops, then Nitrogen 
in the form of Nitrate only is used, and the application ranges 
from 150 to 250 pounds per acre. By this method the yields 
are not so large, but the crop is usually earlier, and the net 
profit is quite as great as if larger applications of manure or 
fertilizer were made at the time of setting the plants. The 
object is early tomatoes, and, under average conditions of 
season and markets, any application of fertilizer or any prac- 
tice which would tend to encourage a later growth or longer 
season would reduce proportionately the net profits. 

In the other method, farmyard manures are usually 
spread upon the soil in the fall or winter, thoroughly worked 
into the soil in the spring. A fertilizer containing chiefly 
phosphoric acid and potash is applied broadcast previous 
to setting the plants, and at the time of setting an application 
of 100 to 150 pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda is applied 
around the hill or over the row. After two or three weeks, 
depending upon the season and the relative growth of the 
plants, another application of Nitrate of Soda at the same 
rate is applied. This, because it minimizes the interruption 
in the feeding of the plant by furnishing immediately avail- 
able Nitrogen, causes not only an increase in the yield and 
marketable quality of the entire crop, but it materially 
increases the quantity of early fruit. The results of four 
years' experiments show that, by this method, the value of 
the increased yield of what may be regarded as extra early 
fruit averaged about ^45 per acre. 

As in other cases, care should be used .^ ^ a 1 
1 r TAT- • u ij How to Apply 

m the application or iNitrate; it should not „. 

come in too close contact with the plants, 

and, if broadcasted after the plants are set, it should be done 

when they are dry, so that all of the Nitrate may reach the 

soil. Where a larger quantity is used, as, for example, 300 

pounds or more, it is very desirable that fractional dressings 



Food for should be made, though care should be used not to make 
^" ^ the second appHcation too late, as it encourages a later 
^26 growth of plants and retards maturity. 

F 1 r hh ^^^ cabbage is a gross feeder, and the 

crop can utilize large quantities of plant- 
food to good advantage. The experiments with this crop 
show that even where the land has been fertilized with what 
would be regarded as reasonable amounts of fertilizers 
adapted for the purpose, extra dressings of Nitrate have 
given very profitable returns. The yield has been increased 
from 40 to 80 per cent., and the net value of crop from $53 
to ^80 per acre. The experiments also show that what may 
be regarded as a large quantity of Nitrate, namely, 400 
pounds per acre, is superior to any smaller quantity, and 
further, that this would better be applied in two rather than 
in a greater number of fractional dressings, as the later 
applications have a tendency to disproportionately increase 
leaf growth and retard heading. The most remarkable 
effect of the Nitrate is shown in the influence it exerts upon 
the marketable quality of the crop. In the experiments 
conducted the addition of Nitrate resulted in more than 
doubling the value of those heads which were marketable — 
that is, where no Nitrate was applied, $1 per hundred was 
received, and where 400 pounds of Nitrate were used the price 
was ^2.50 per hundred. These results suggest a reason for 
the lack of success of many growers, who depend solely upon 
applications of mixed fertilizers. 

„ , , , On soils well adapted for the crop — me- 

. .. . dium sandy loams — the land should be 

plowed early and well cultivated. If ma- 
nures are readily attainable, a dressing of ten tons per acre 
may be applied and well worked into the soil; previous to 
setting the plants a fertilizer rich in Nitrogen, one containing 
6 to 7 ammonia, 6 to 8 phosphoric acid, and 6 to 8 potash, 
should be applied, preferably broadcast, at the rate of 800 
to 1,000 pounds per acre. At the time of setting, or very 
shortly after, Nitrate of Soda, at the rate of 200 pounds per 
acre, should be applied, preferably along the row, and culti- 
vated in; this followed two or three weeks later with a second 
dressing of 200 pounds. The eff"ect of these applications — 
that is, the presence of an abundance of available Nitrogen — 
will be to stimulate and strengthen the plant, so that it will 



make use of all of the other food in the soil, and be able to ^^^'^ ^^^ 

overcome, in a great degree, any unfavorable conditions that ^°^^ 

may prevail later in the season. The natural tendency of- "7 

the plant to absorb food is gratified, and a maximum crop 

is the result. 

This is a crop of very considerable im- e 1 T bl 

portance in market garden districts, and in _ . 

certain sections is very profitable. The 

profit, other things being equal, is measured by the earliness 

v^ith which the crop may be gotten into the market. Owing 

to the fact that the crop is planted very early, often before 

the weather is settled, heavy dressings of soluble Nitrogen 

at time of planting would be liable to considerable loss from 

leaching. Hence fractional dressings have proved the most 

satisfactory. The gains obtained in the experiments from 

the use of Nitrate have ranged from 30 to over 100 per cent., 

according to the amount applied and method of application. 

The increased value of crop, due to the Nitrate, averaged 

about ;$30 per acre — a very handsome return from the use of 

the extra fertilizer. 

Where soils have been previously liberally m th d f 

fertilized, particularly with the mineral ele- . ,. ,. 

, ^ ■' , . ^ ^ ... Apphcation. 

ments, the recommendations tor fertilizers, 

which have in practice proved very satisfactory, are as fol- 
lows: Prepare the soil early and apply a light dressing of 
manure, either previous to plowing or after plowing, and 
harrow in well, and apply a commercial fertilizer rich in 
minerals, say, with a composition of 2 per cent. Nitrogen, 
8 per cent, phosphoric acid and 5 per cent, potash, at the 
rate of 1,000 pounds per acre. After the plants have ger- 
minated and well started apply, broadcast, 150 pounds per 
acre of Nitrate of Soda, following this in two or three weeks 
with a second application of 150 pounds. The first dressing 
will serve to stimulate leaf growth and a deep penetration 
of root, and the second dressing will encourage a rapid 
growth of the turnip, so necessary if high quality is to be 
obtained. Applications made later than one month after 
the seeding usually encourage too large a leaf growth, thus 
reducing the yield of early crop. In the experiments three 
equal dressings of 133 pounds each reduced the yield by 
over 3,000 pounds per acre below that which was obtained 
in two equal dressings of the same amount as suggested 



128 



Food for herewith. The effect of the third dressing seemed to be to 
induce growth of top rather than root. The increase in the 
maturity — that is, the quantity of early crop — will be directly 
increased, in so far as the Nitrate induces a larger crop, which 
is one of the first results of its application. 
Sweet Com ^^'^^ great progress has been made in the 

growth of sweet corn for the early market, 
due both to the development of hardier varieties and to 
greater care in the selection and use of fertilizing materials. 
These hardy varieties of sweet corn are now frequently 
planted as early as March as far north as New Jersey, and, 
when planted so early, the soil supplies of Nitrogen are yet 
unfavorable for the change of organic or other forms of 
Nitrogen into the Nitrate form. Hence Nitrate should con- 
stitute a large part of the nitrogenous food of the plant if 
early maturity is to be accomplished. Owing to this fact, 
the utilization of the Nitrate by the plant is liable to be less 
than if applied later, as the season for heavy rains, which are 
liable to carry away part of the soluble Nitrogen, is not yet 
over, besides, the weather is not warm enough to cause a 
rapid growth. Practice, however, has shown that, by small 
fractional dressings of Nitrate early, maximum results may 
be obtained. In the preparation of the soil for the growth 
of this crop, therefore, considerable organic nitrogenous 
material may be used to advantage. 
-_ , - , A good practice is to manure the soil, either 

iuetilOClS or i- irn • ^ r 

_ ,. durmg the iali or wmter, with irom ten to 

twelve tons per acre, and apply previous to 
planting or setting the plants (in many cases the plants are 
started in the plant-house), a fertilizer rich in phosphoric 
acid and potash, also containing organic forms of Nitrogen. 
At time of planting use a compost in the hill, and use the 
Nitrate as a side dressing after the corn is well rooted. The 
advantage of the compost and organic forms of Nitrogen is 
that they supply the soil with an abundance of readily- 
fermentable material, which, to some extent, warms the soil, 
besides containing substances useful in later stages of growth. 
Nitrate may be applied in three dressings, at the rate of lOO 
pounds per acre in each dressing, and the dressings should 
be so distributed as to cover the season of growth — that is, 
as soon as plants begin to form ears the last application of 
Nitrogen may be made, which encourages a quick growth 



ofthe ears and also makes them much larger. The increased ^^^^^^""^ 
gains per acre when the Nitrate has been used in this way _^1 — 
have ranged from ^i8 to ^40— a very profitable use of Nitro- "9 
gen, as the gain is really in excess of that which would be 
obtained by average methods of manuring. 

Soils suitable for the growth of musk- Muskmelons. 
melons are preferably light, sandy loams, 
not naturally well supplied with any of the constituents of 
plant growth. The crop does not require large quantities 
of plant-food, but must have the needed amount in available 
form early in the season. Experiments that have been con- 
ducted through several seasons show that the best form of 
Nitrogen for this crop is the Nitrate, and that preferably two 
applications should be made. The increase in yield from 
the addition of Nitrate of Soda has averaged, practically, 
100 per cent., with an average increased value of crop 
of $100 per acre. It is shown, further, that as in the case of 
very early crops, that the earliest ripened fruit is not found 
upon the plants which received the extra fertilizer, but rather 
upon those insufficiently nourished, and thus forced to 
maturity because of a lack of food; besides, these specimens 
are usually small and of poorer quality. The increased 
value is obtained because of a large crop of finer quahty, 
as a very marked influence of the added nitrogenous sub- 
stance is noticed in marketable quality of the total crop, 
reducing very materially the percentage of culls. The 
experiments showed that, while the percentage of culls, 
where no Nitrogen was applied, averaged 40 per cent., the 
average per cent, of culls on the fertilized area was but 25 
per cent., indicating that the normal development of fruit 
requires a sufficient abundance of available Nitrogen. 

On light soils, apply broadcast during fall Methods of 
or winter, 8 to 10 tons of manure, which p . 
should be plowed in early in spring. After 
the land is prepared, a high-grade fertilizer should be applied 
broadcast, at the rate of 600 to 800 pounds per acre, and 
harrowed in previous to planting. After the plants are well 
started, apply 100 pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda; before 
the vines begin to run, make an additional application of 
100 pounds per acre. Care should be taken in the applica- 
tion of the Nitrate, as suggested in the case of the other 



Food for crops, not to allow the salt to come in contact with the 
^'^"^^ foliage of the plants. 

^^° Cucumbers ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ °^ cucumbers, heavier soils 

may be used, and larger quantities of ferti- 
lizers applied. In our experiments, the application of Nitrate 
in addition to regular methods of fertilization resulted in a 
very large increase in crop— over lOO per cent.— and an 
increase in net value of over $60 per acre. The amounts 
of Nitrate applied may range from 250 to 350 pounds per 
acre, and it should preferably be distributed more evenly 
throughout the season than in the case of the melons; 300 
pounds per acre, in three appHcations, gave the best results. 
The effect of the Nitrate here, as in the case of melons, was 
particularly noticeable in maintaining a rapid and con- 
tinuous growth of vine and fruit, thus materially reducing 
the proportion of culls. For growing this crop to best 
advantage, the soil should either be well manured or a com- 
mercial fertilizer, rich in all of the constituents, should be 
applied at the rate of 400 to 600 pounds per acre, previous 
to planting; and after the plants have well started, 100 
pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda should be applied; this 
to be followed with two further dressings of the same 
amount. The time between the dressing may range from 
two to three weeks, according to season. 
P , Celery is a crop that responds most profit- 

ably to an application of an abundance 
of available Nitrogen. This fertihzer not only increases the 
yield, but very materially improves the quality of the crop. 
Where the soil is naturally rich, or where what may be 
regarded as good methods of practice, in reference to ferti- 
lizers, are followed, extra applications of Nitrate result in 
very largely increased yields and proportionate improve- 
ment in quality. In the experiments that were conducted, 
it was shown that where ordinary treatment was given, and 
a small and unprofitable crop was obtained, the addition 
of a few dollars' worth of Nitrate changed the crop into a 
very profitable one; and in the case of a soil that was regarded 
as good enough to produce a fair crop, the addition caused 
a large increase in total crop, and a very marked improve- 
ment in the quality. The selling price of roots grown with 
Nitrate was 150 per cent, greater than where none was 
applied, and 100 per cent, greater than where an insufl&cient 



amount was used. The increased value per acre of the crop ^oo^ for 

from the best use of the Nitrate was over ^^250, ^^^°^^ 

The celery crop is expensive, both in yur ^h A f ^"^^ 

plants and in labor, and since the cost of . ,. ^. 
S . •1111 • Application, 

these Items is the same whether the crop is 

large or small, intensive systems of feeding the crop usually 
give excellent returns. The crop is also very much improved 
in quality if the conditions are made favorable for continuous 
and rapid growth, hence an abundance of moisture and of 
immediately available food are prime essentials. The 
former can be controlled to a large extent by good methods 
of culture, but the best culture of the best soils is not capable 
of providing the necessary food, and, of the essential elements 
of food, Nitrogen seems to be the one that contributes espe- 
cially to rapidity of growth and to the formation of stalk 
which possesses that peculiar crispness which in so marked 
a degree measures marketable quality. Soils that are deep, 
moist and rich in organic matter are best suited for the crop; 
these should be heavily manured, say, at the rate of ten to 
fifteen tons per acre, and should also receive liberal amounts 
of high-grade commercial fertilizer, at the rate of 600 to 800 
pounds per acre, all applied broadcast previous to setting the 
plants. After the plants are well started, apply 200 pounds 
per acre of Nitrate of Soda along the row, and, if the weather 
is dry, cultivate it in, though, ordinarily, the moisture in the 
soil is sufficient to cause an immediate distribution of the 
salt; and in three to four weeks make a second application of 
Nitrate of the same amount and in the same manner. The 
two applications of Nitrate, of 200 pounds each, will, it is 
believed, give, on the average, better returns than smaller 
amounts or a greater number of applications, though the 
conditions of season may warrant such changes from this 
method as the judgment of the grower may dictate. 

The growing of peppers has become a „ 

• J \, . ? ^. ^^ , J J. Peppers, 

considerable industry in market garden dis- 

tricts in recent years. Studies of the special needs of the 

crop show that, on good soils, well adapted for the plant, 

additional dressings of Nitrate are necessary for best results 

— the gain in yield averaging 35 per cent., and the increased 

value of crop due to the added Nitrates averaging ^30 per 

acre. A large quantity — 300 pounds per acre — seems to be 

much superior to any less amount, and, owing to the fact 



Food for that peppers continue to form during the entire period of 
^^ante gj-Q-^th^ tj^g distribution of the Nitrate throughout the season 
^32 is desirable where large quantities are applied. Where more 
convenient the first apphcation of Nitrate may be applied at 
time of setting the plants, in order to prevent any delay in 
growth after setting. The later fractional applications are 
distributed throughout the season, two or three weeks apart. 
^ - T) f * ^^ the growing of early potatoes it is essen- 

tial that an abundant supply of Nitrogen 
be at the disposal of the plant. The experience of growers 
has clearly demonstrated this fact, and, until commercial 
fertilizers came into general use, most growers used large 
quantities of yard manure, in order that the plant should 
suffer no lack of this element. With the introduction of 
commercial fertilizers, the question of greatest importance 
has been the source of Nitrogen best suited to meet the 
demands of the special early growth. The experiments 
which have been conducted with a view to answering this 
question have shown clearly that while Nitrate is most use- 
ful, a combination of the Nitrate with quickly-available 
organic forms, as dried blood, or with both organic and 
ammonia forms, is preferable to the use of any single form. 
„ , , , On good potato soils, therefore, a good 

T, ^. fertilization should consist of from 800 to 

1,000 pounds of a fertilizer containing 
Nitrogen, 4 per cent.; available phosphoric acid, 8 per cent.; 
and potash, 10 per cent.; one-third of the Nitrogen at least 
to be derived from Nitrate of Soda and the remainder from 
quickly-available organic forms. On soils in good condition 
the fertilizer may be applied in the row at the time of plant- 
ing, though many prefer to apply one-half of the desired 
amount broadcast previously and the remainder in the row 
with the seed. Where there appears to be a deficiency of 
Nitrogen, due to the fact that Nitrates have been carried to 
lower levels by rains, or to the fact that the season has not 
permitted the change and appropriation of organic forms, 
then the application of 100 pounds of Nitrate per acre at the 
time of blossoming will encourage the rapid growth of tubers, 
though retarding, to some extent, the time of ripening. 

o - T» . - The sweet potato finds its most congenial 

Sweet Potatoes. , S- , , -i 1 11 

home m a light, sandy soil, the physical 

character of the soil measuring, to a large extent, the quality 



of the crop, though the method of fertiHzation will also ^^^^^ ^^^ 



Plants 



influence this to a certain extent. This plant seems to have 
the power of acquiring from the soil Nitrogen that is inaccess- ^33 
ible to other plants, and thus, where large applications of this 
element are made, a tendency to undue vine growth seems 
to be encouraged, and also to change the marketable quality 
of the tubers, causing a long, rooty growth, rather than a 
compact, nodular form. The use of a small amount of 
Nitrogen is, however, desirable, an increase of from fifty to 
seventy bushels per acre being secured from such use. Hence, 
soils rich in Nitrogen, or those upon which Nitrogen has been 
previously applied in considerable quantities, do not produce 
tubers of the character demanded by our northern markets — 
a small, round tuber, which cooks dry and has a nutty flavor. 
The^ characteristics of quality cannot be secured in crops 
grown on heavy soils, nor on sandy soils too liberallv supplied 
with Nitrogen. 

The fertilizer may be applied at the time m fh H f 

of making up the rows, in order that it p 

may be evenly distributed before the slips 
are planted. This will encourage immediate growth of 
plant, and the small quantity of Nitrate which is applied 
early in the season will not militate against the proper de- 
velopment of the tuber, as an absence of Nitrogen in the 
soil after the Nitrate has been taken up will discourage 
the formation of the rooty form of tuber, which is market- 
able at a lower price. 

Experiments have also demonstrated the necessity in the 
soils of an abundance of minerals, and a fertilizer containing 
2.5 per cent. Nitrogen, 7 per cent, available phosphoric acid 
and 10 per cent, potash, one-half the Nitrogen to be drawn 
from Nitrate, seems to meet the requirements better than 
one containing a larger amount of Nitrogen. 



II. For Crops of Low Commercial Value. 

The growth of hay and the cereals, wheat „ , r^ • 

t ^r ' r I Hay and Grain, 

and rye, forms a very important part ot the 

farming interests of the Eastern, Middle and Southern Coast 

States. The areas of these crops in eighteen States, includ- 



Food for ing Tennessee and Kentucky, are, in round numbers, as 
P^^"^^ follows: 

•^34 Hay 15,000,000 acres. 

Wheat , '. . 8,000,000 " 

Rye 772,000 " 

In most of these States large quantities of commercial 
fertilizers are used, either because the soils are naturally 
poor or because they have been depleted of their original 
constituents by continuous cropping, and, even with added 
fertilizers, the yields are not large enough to make the crops 
in themselves highly profitable. In many States the yield 
in particular districts is large, but the average yield of hay 
is but 1.25 tons per acre; of wheat, but 13 bushels per acre, 
and but 15 bushels of rye. The aggregate production of 
these crops is, however, very large, and, because of the condi- 
tions which prevail, it is likely that their growth will continue 
for some time to come, though it is eminently desirable that 
the average yield should be increased. 

One of the chief reasons for the low average yield is that 
the farming is on the "extensive," rather than on the "inten- 
sive" plan. The relatively large areas used are not well pre- 
pared for the seed, and the fertilizers applied do not fully 
supplement soil supplies of plant-food. These conditions 
too, are not liable to change at once, because the farmers are 
not yet prepared to adopt the more rational intensive system; 
the adjustment to new conditions requires time. The sug- 
gestions here given as to the use of top-dressings of nitro- 
genous substances are therefore of primary importance, 
because, if followed, it will enable the farmer to obtain 
more profitable crops, and will encourage the gradual adop- 
tion of better systems of practice. 

The farmers have, however, reached the point where they 
are asking the general question: "How shall I profitably 
increase the yields of these crops ?" They are not satisfied 
with present conditions, nor with the general advice to supply 
the crops with additional plant-food. The advice is not 
definite enough, and they are not sure that the cost of expen- 
sive plant-food will be returned in the immediate crop, and 
they cannot afford to wait for future crops to return an 
interest on the invested capital. As soon as it is made clear 
that a profitable increase in crop from the use of fertilizers 
is a reasonable thing to expect, then the questions are — firsts 



"What shall I use?" second, "How much shall I use per ^^od for 
acre?" and third, "When and how shall it be applied?" ^^^"^^ ' 
Experiments that have been conducted with the use of Nitrate ^35 
of Soda answer all of these questions in a definite and 
specific way. 

Inthecaseof hay, from timothy and other „ 

grasses, the experiments that have been 
conducted answer the first question — "What shall I use" — 
as follows: Use Nitrate of Soda, because it is a food element 
that is especially needed; it is soluble in water and can be 
immediately taken up by the plants and supplies them with 
that which they need at the time they need it — it can be used 
by them early in the spring before other forms of applied 
Nitrogen are usable and before other soil supplies are avail- 
able. The results of experiments conducted through a 
period of nine years, and in different sections of the State, 
show that upon soils which will produce crops ranging from 
one to three tons per acre, a gain in yield of from 9 to 54 per 
cent., or an average increase of 32.7 per cent., may be ex- 
pected from the use of from 100 to 150 pounds per acre, 
which would show an average gain in yield of 654 pounds per 
acre; based on the average yield of this section of the country 
of 1.25 tons per acre, the gain would be 820 pounds. This 
increase, at an average price of ^12 per ton, would mean 
about ^5 per acre, or $2 more than the cost of the material. 
A very satisfactory profit, when it is remembered that it is 
obtained at the same cost of labor and of capital invested 
in land. 

The second question, as to how much __ __ , 
, ,, , T 1^ • 1 1 How Much 

shall be applied, experience teaches that on _, 

good soils, in a good state of cultivation, 150 x y a 
pounds per acre would be regarded as the 
most useful amount, though on poor soils, 100 pounds would 
be better, and on richer soils, as high as 200 or 250 pounds 
per acre may be used with advantage. The reason why a 
smaller amount is recommended on poor soils is because on 
such soils there is liable to be a deficiency of the mineral ele- 
ments, and inasmuch as the Nitrate is not a food complete in 
itself, but an element of food, the plant would be unable to 
utilize it to the best advantage in the absence of the necessary 
minerals. Where the soils are good, or under the intensive 
plan, larger amounts may be used, as under this system all 



Food for thg constituents are supplied in reasonable excess, besides 
— ?i^^ every precaution is taken to have the physical condition of 
^^ the soil so perfect as to provide for the easy distribution and 
absorption of the food applied. In experiments conducted 
in Rhode Island the largest profit was obtained from the 
application of 450 pounds per acre, together with the neces- 
sary minerals. This method of practice is one which should 
be the ultimate aim, and can be accomplished by gradually 
increasing the amounts as the profits from the crops grown 
from the application of smaller amounts warrant. 

,, ., , r The experiments, the results of which are 

Methods of c 1 1 • 1 i 

. ,. ,. conhrmed by experience, also answer the 

Apphcation. , . , . ^ ^ 1 • 1 n 1 

third question, as to when it shall be ap- 
plied. Apply as a top-dressing in spring, after the grass has 
well started, when the foliage is dry, and preferably just 
before or just after a rain. If applied earlier than this there 
will be a slight danger of loss, because the roots will not be 
ready to appropriate it, and, as it is entirely soluble, it may 
be washed into the drains. If applied when vegetative func- 
tions are active, it is immediately absorbed, and not 
only strengthens the plant but causes it to throw its 
roots deeply into the soil and to absorb more readily the 
mineral food, and thus utilize to a fuller degree the amount 
of Nitrate applied. It has been shown that, even under the 
best seasonal and soil conditions, a part of the Nitrate will 
disappear in any case, and that only about 75 per cent, can 
be expected to be returned in the increased crop, and if this 
75 per cent, is all returned in the crop, a maximum of about 
1,500 pounds would be produced if the yield only was 
increased. Frequently, however, not only is the yield in- 
creased, but the quality of the hay is improved— that is, 
there is proportionately more nitrogenous substance in the 
hay than in that obtained where no Nitrogen has been used, 
so that, unless the Nitrate has been absorbed uniformly, we 
cannot expect the yield that may be calculated from the 
amount of Nitrogen applied. These experiments suggest, 
further, that, owing to the difficulty of evenly distributing 
a small amount of Nitrate of Soda, and owing, also, to the 
fact that, on soils that have been seeded with grass, there is 
frequently a deficiency of mineral elements, a mixture may 
preferably be used which is rich in Nitrate, usually one-half, 
the balance consisting of acid phosphate, ground bone and 



muriate of potash. The solubl^piifiinerals are readily carried ^o^^^ ^°' 
to the roots of the plants, and the ground bone feeds the ^°*^ 
surface roots, and the Nitrate is absorbed quite as readily ^37 
as if not used with any other material. This method is to be 
recommended whenever the land is in good condition, and 
it is desired to keep up the content of the mineral constituents 
in the soil, as well as to avoid any danger of overfeeding with 
Nitrogen, which would have a tendency, particularly in the 
warmer climates, of causing a softer growth and formation 
of mildew. This is liable to occur where the Nitrogen is in 
excess and the ration is not well balanced. A good mixture 
for top-dressing may be made up as follows: 

Nitrate of Soda 500 lbs. 

Ground bone 200 

JKcid phosphate 200 

Muriate of potash 100 

1,000 lbs. 

Applied at the rate of 200 to 300 pounds per acre. 

The answer to the questions as applied to ..-, 

wheat are, in essence, the same, though 
modified in particular points, owing to the fact that the 
wheat is grown for grain, rather than for weight of total 
produce, as in the case of hay, and also because wheat, being 
seeded in the fall, has not so large a root system as the grass, 
and therefore greater care should be used in the application 
of the material. Nitrate of Soda is, however, the substance 
that is likely to give the most satisfactory results as a top- 
dressing, because, as already pointed out, it is soluble, and 
can thus reach every point of the soil without the necessity 
of cultivation and it is immediately available, and thus 
supplies food at once or at the time most needed, energizing 
the plants weakened by the winter and strengthening those 
already vigorous and enabling them to secure a larger pro- 
portion of the mineral elements. The time of application 
should be early in spring, or after growth has started. 

The results of experiments conducted to ^ . ^ 

, • ■ ^ J • • 1 I Gains from the 

answer this question show a gam in both ^^ ,,^., , 

J ' r 1 ^ 1 ■ r Use of Nitrate 

grain and straw from the top-dressing or 

Nitrate of Soda. The yields per acre, with- 
out the top-dressing, ranged from eleven to twenty-seven 
bushels of grain per acre and from 1,500 to 1,800 pounds of 



Food for straw, thus showing a wide variation in the character of the 
^° ^ soils used and in seasons, making the average of the results 
^38 generally applicable. 

The gain in yield of grain ranged from 25.9 to 100 per 
cent., while that of straw ranged from 54 to 100 per cent., 
or an average of 60.8 per cent, increase in the case of the grain, 
and 83.8 per cent, increase in the case of the straw. The value 
of these increased yields, at average prices, shows a large 
profit in all cases. Applying this to the average yield per 
acre of wheat and straw, namely, thirteen bushels of wheat 
and 1,600 pounds of straw for the Eastern and Southern ' 
States included in our discussion, we find a gain of 7.9 
bushels of wheat and 1,340 pounds of straw, and a valuation 
of seventy-five cents per bushel for wheat and ^6 per ton for 
straw, which prices probably represent the average, though 
not as high as are now prevailing, the total value of the 
increase is ^9.95, or a net gain of ^6.20 per acre, using the 
high price of ^50 per ton for the Nitrate of Soda. The 
profit here indicated is a good one and should make wheat 
raising more encouraging, besides stimulating the farmer to 
better practice in other directions. The calculated yields 
from the use of Nitrate are not unreasonable to expect, since 
on good wheat soils and with fairly good management, with- 
out the additional Nitrate, the average yield is over twenty 
bushels per acre. 

^, . ^ In reference to the second question, as to 

The Amount , u tvt- 1 n 1 i- j 1 

^ . , how much iNitrate shall be applied, the 

to Apply. . 11 -1 • J 

experiments show that on sous in a good 

state of cultivation, those that will produce from, say, fifteen 
bushels per acre, without top-dressing, 150 pounds per acre, 
the average amount used in the experiments, would be the 
most useful; though, on poorer soils, which would average 
ten to twelve bushels per acre, 100 pounds would be better, 
for the reasons already discussed in the case of hay. 

On better soils, where quantities larger than 150 pounds 
per acre seem desirable, it is strongly recommended that two 
applications of equal weight be made; the first, when the 
plants have well started, and the second, when the crop is 
coming in head. Very often the season is such as to encour- 
age a rapid change of the insoluble Nitrogen in the soil, in 
which case too large an application in the spring would tend 
toward an undue development of leaf and the ripening would 



be impaired, hence the advantage of dividing the amount is ^°°^ ^°^ 

apparent, as, if the season is good and the growth normal, ^^°^^ 

the second application may be dispensed with. Where the ^39 

soil is liable to be deficient in minerals, and this is often the 

case, the Nitrate may be mixed with other materials, as 

recommended for hay, the excess of minerals not used for the 

wheat providing for the following crop. 

The three experiments with rye in 1894 ^ 

confirm the conclusions reached in both 

the experiment on hay and wheat, that Nitrate of Soda as a 

top-dressing proves desirable in effectually increasing the 

yield of both grain and straw, and which is accomplished at a 

profit. The average yield of crops without top-dressing 

ranged from 9.3 to 15.4 bushels of grain, and the increase 

from the application of lOO pounds of Nitrate of Soda 

ranged from 21 to 37 per cent, for grain, and from 33.5 to 37 

for straw, or an average increase of 28.5 per cent, for grain 

and 35.7 for straw. The yield obtained without top-dressing 

is not so large as in the case of the wheat, nor is the increase 

proportionately as large, due undoubtedly to the fact that 

the rye is usually grown on poorer land than wheat, and that 

only 100 pounds are used, though this small amount is 

recommended because of the relatively lower price of grain. 

Applying this percentage increase, however, to the average 

yields, as shown by the States mentioned, namely, fifteen 

bushels of rye, and 1,800 pounds of straw per acre, we have a 

gain of 4.28 bushels of grain and 603 pounds of straw. At 

sixty cents per bushel for the grain, and ^12 per ton for the 

straw, the gain is $6.18, or a net profit from the use of Nitrate 

of Soda of ^3-93 per acre, a very handsome return for the 

investment. The suggestions as to the amount and time 

to apply are practically the same as for the wheat and hay, 

though, owing to the fact that the straw is relatively more 

valuable than the grain, the larger applications may be made 

for the rye than for wheat, as an abnormal increase in the 

proportion of straw would not result in lowering the total 

value of the crop. 

At this Station durinp; the years 1800 to _, . , 

*= -^ 11 Experiments 

1 002 seven experiments were conducted .^, _, 

< 1 TS.T- J • r with Forage 

with Nitrate as a top-dressing on forage _ 

crops, the Nitrate being used in addition 

to the manures and fertilizers generally used, and the follow- 



Food for 
Plants 

140 



ing tabulations show the yield and gain per acre obtained. 
It will be observed that in all cases a very marked increase 
due to the application of Nitrate occurred, ranging from 34.1 
per cent, for corn to 96.6 per cent, for barley — a profitable 
return from the use of the Nitrate on all crops except the 
barley, which, owing to unfavorable weather conditions, did 
not make a large yield. Applying this percentage increase 
to what has been shown to be average yields of these crops 
without Nitrate, we have the following table, which shows 
the gain per acre and the value of the increase on all crops 
at an assumed value of ^3 per ton: 

Yield of Forage Crops Per Acre. 



Rye 

Wheat 

Barnyard Millet. 

Corn 

Oats and Peas. . 
Barley 



JO.S 

6 S 

3 a. 


Fertilizer. 


Increased Yield. 


"S 

iT 
« 

c 



;2 
be 

u 
< 


Increased Yield. 


bi 

c 


Z 


Nitrate 
of Soda. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 




lbs. 


lbs. 


I 


9,520 


13,100 


3,580 


.37.6 


10,000 


3,760 


I 


9,280 


15,000 


5,720 


61.6 


10,000 


6,160 


2 


H,355 


21,540 


7,1^5 


50.0 


14,000 


7,000 


I 


20,400 


26,800 


6,400 


314 


20,000 


6,280 


I 


6,250 


9.530 


3,280 


52 -5 


10,000 


5,250 


I 


2,400 


4,720 


2,320 


96.6 


8,000 


7,728 



D O 

c "- 

'"' CO 

-^ 
■1:5 



64 

24 
50 
42 

88 
59 



It will be observed that the value of the increased crop 
ranges from ^5.64 to ^11.59 per acre — a profitable increase 
in every case, as the average cost of the Nitrate did not ex- 
ceed $3.60. This profit does not take into consideration 
the fact that the average increase for all the crops was over 
50 per cent., thus reducing, in this proportion, the area 
required for the production of a definite amount of food — 
a point of vital importance in the matter of growing forage 
for soiling purposes. In other words, it is shown that, not 
only is thefe a profitable gain, but that with these crops the 
application of Nitrate of Soda made it possible to double the 
number of cattle or the number of cows that could be kept 
on a definite area. 

In the case of the wheat and rye the application was 
made when the plants were well started in the spring. In 



the case of the spring or summer-seeded crops the appHca- ^^^^ ^^^ 
tions were made after the plants were well started and root _^^J__ 
systems well established and ready for the m fh d f ^"^^ 

rapid absorption of food. In raising forage . .. . 

crops the best results, in fact, satisfactory 
results, can only be obtained when grown under the inten- 
sive system. The soil must be well prepared and an 
abundance of all the elements of plant-food supplied. 
Hence, the application of Nitrate may be greater than is 
usually recommended for grain crops under the extensive 
system. 

Although there are many valuable suggestions offered 
by the experiments, at least two are of fundamental im- 
portance, and cannot be too strongly urged upon the atten- 
tion of farmers : 

1. That the constituents Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 
potash, as found in commercial supplies furnishing these 
elements, do serve as plant-food, nourishing the plant in the 
same manner as those in home manures, and should, there- 
fore, be liberally used, in order to guarantee maximum crops. 

2. Of these constituent elements Nitrogen is of especial 
importance, because it is the one element which, in its natural 
state, must be changed in form before it can be used by the 
plants. Hence, its application in an immediately-available 
form. IS especially advantageous for quick-growtng vegetable 
crops, whose marketable quality is measured by rapid and 
continuous growth, and for those field crops which make their 
greatest development in spring, before the conditions are favor- 
able for the change of the Nitrogen in the soil into forms usable 
by plants. 



FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 107. 

Editor: W. H. BEAL. 



Prepared in the Office of Experiment Stations. 

A. C. TRUE, Director. 

Page 7. 

" Under existing conditions farmers are advised to purchase 
fertilizer materials and to make their own mixtures rather 
than to purchase mixed or complete special fertilizers. This 
course is believed to be advisable for two reasons: First, 



Food for hecause the * specials' are not properly compounded, and second, 
^° ^ because the needed plant food can be thus procured at lower 

142 cost:"" 

The continuous use of muriate of potash may so far 
deplete the soil of lime that an occasional application of 
this material may be required in case of such use. The 
sulphate of potash may be a safer material to use where a 
growth of clover is desired than the muriate, and therefore 
it may often be wise to use the sulphate. The high-grade 
sulphate should be selected. 

These materials should as a rule be mixed just before 
use, and applied broadcast (after plowing) and harrowed in 
just before planting the seed. Where ISfitrate of Soda is to 
be used in quantities in excess of ijO pounds per acre, one-half 
the amount of this salt may be withheld until the crop is 3 or 
^ inches high, when it may be evenly scattered near the plants. 
It is unnecessary to cover this, though it may prove more 
promptly effective in absence of rain if cultivated in. 

The quantities recommended are in most cases moderate. 
On sods of good physical character it will often prove profit- 
able to use about one and one-half times the amounts given. 



SUMMARY OF INCREASED YIELDS. 

From Application of 100 Pounds per Acre of Nitrate of Soda. 

_.._.. , It should be pointed out that in the 
Rise in Price of , , .'^ • 1 at- r p j 

^ -rx , ^ recorded experiments with JNitrate or boda 
Farm Products. i» /r v> , c l 1 • 1 j • 

on Money L-rops heretofore published in 

Experiment Station Reports and Bulletins, farm products 

were much lower in price. The prices of agricultural 

products have risen to a high water mark, and in certain 

cases the advance has been to extreme figures, and all farm 

commodities are now higher than they have been for some 

years. Our statements heretofore published, showing the 

r-^^j. profit resulting from the crop increases 
Margm of Profit \ , r at- r c j t 

_, \ due to the use or JNitrate or boda, it re- 

Greater. J 1 • r 1 r 

arranged on a basis or present values tor 

crops, would show more profit than before. It should also 

* U. S. Department Agricultural, Farmers' Bulletin, 65 aud 84 (Experiment Station 
W ork, II, page 27 ; VII, page 5). 



be remarked that the prices of other Ammoniates have ^^^d for 

risen higher than Nitrate of Soda, and it is ^,, . ^^^^ 

ur UL riiA OtnerAmmo- 

as heretofore the cheapest ot all Ammo- . , „. , ^^^ 

, , ^ mates Higher, 
mates m the market. 

Economists of authority tell us that the „ ^ , , -,,,.,., 

r 1 • • • r J L 1 Probable Stability 

cost oi living IS to remain tor a considerable ^ ^ ,^ , -^ 

u L • 1 1 • L T 1 J of Farm Values, 

time on the high basis now established, 

so that it is to be expected that the prices of agricultural 
products will remain at a high level. 

In this connection your attention is called to many ex- 
periments with Fertilizers in which Nitrate ^ , ^ , ^ 

rcj- j.u u J- J Good Results Due 

OI ISoda IS said to have been used in order , „. 

J K ^ u 1 V J J to Nitrate, 

to produce results to be exploited as due 

to materials other than this Standard Money Crop Producer. 

■Further, one may add, that when Ni- „ ,, „,. , 
^ ^ ■ j^u r J Result Shght 

trate is used at the rate or loo pounds per , ,, , „ 

^1 ^1 1 • • T? -r Added Cost per 

acre, the actual cash increase in Jbertihzer . , ^ 

1,11 J Acre and per Ton 

cost per acre is very small, and when used , ^ .,. 

• 1 J • / , of Fertilizer, 

in mixed goods it cheapens the cost per ton 

of the Fertilizer. 

The highest agricultural authorities „„ „. „ 

u * ui^u J u r 1 • What Nitrate Has 

have established by careful experimenta- ^ 

^u ^ .^^ J r TvT- ^ r c J Done for Crops, 

tion that 100 pounds ot Nitrate of boda ^ 

applied to the crops quoted below has produced increased 

yields as tabulated hereunder: 

Barley 400 pounds of grain. 

Corn 280 pounds of grain. 

Oats , 400 pounds of grain. 

Rye 300 pounds of grain. 

Wheat 300 pounds of grain. 

Potatoes 3,600 pounds of tubers. 

Hay 1,000 pounds, barn-cured. 

Cotton 500 pounds seed-cotton. 

Sugar Beets 4,000 pounds of tubers. 

Beets 4,000 pounds of tubers. 

Sweet Potatoes 3,900 pounds of tubers. 

Cabbages 6,100 pounds. 

Carrots 7,800 pounds. 

Onions i ,800 pounds. 

Turnips 37 per cent. 

Strawberries 200 quarts. 

Asparagus 100 bunches. 

Tomatoes 100 baskets. 

Celery 30 per cent. 



Food for J(- should be remembered that plants take up most of 

^^^"^^ their Nitrogen during the early period of their growth. 
•44 It IS now known that there is not as much danger of it 

being leached out of the soil by the rains during the growing 
season as has been generally believed, since the rains seldom 
reach lower than the bottom of the furrow, and the movement 
of the soil moisture is up instead of down. Besides, soil 
moisture is strongly held by good soils by capillary attraction. 

Nitrate of Soda looks somewhat like common dairy 
salt, and horses, cows and sheep, if they can get to it, may 
eat it to an injurious extent. 

The emptied bags, especially in damp weather, have more 
or less Nitrate adhering to them. After emptying, it is a 
good plan to soak in water, which will make an excellent 
liquid manure, say one empty bag to a barrel of water. 

// lumpy, the Nitrate should be broken up fine, which is 
easily done by pounding it on the barn floor with the back of a 
■spade or shovel, or by a hand grinding machine made especially 
for home mixing, which is now in common use in Europe 
and beginning to be used in America. 

If the Nitrate is to be mixed with superphosphate or 
other fertilizers, put the desired quantity of each in a heap 
on the floor and turn it over until it is uniformly mixed. 

Nitrate of Soda, unlike sulphate of ammonia, dried blood 
and other complete mixed fertilizers, can be mixed with lime or 
ashes without loss of Nitrogen. 



FROM BULLETIN No. 67. 

Maryland Experiment Station on the Culture and Handling 
of Tobacco in Maryland. 



H. J. PATTERSON, Director and Chemist. 



From Page 140. 

_ ^ The following materials are well adapted 

for use in making fertilizers for tobacco: 
Dissolved South Carolina rock, dissolved bone, dried 
fish, bone-tankage, cotton-seed meal. Nitrate of Soda, 
sulphate of ammonia, high grade sulphate of potash, car- 
bonate of potash and magnesia, and cotton-seed-hull ashes. 



As a rule, in mixing fertilizers there is not as much Nitro- ^°°^ ^°^ 

gen and potash used as would be beneficial and profitable. 

By the use of crimson clover and cow-peas for adding ^^^ 

humus to the soils the amount of Nitrogen or ammonia 

furnished by commercial fertilizer could be either kept low 

or reduced. Farmers should generally aim to mix their own 

fertilizers, as by this means they are sure of what goes into 

the fertilizer, and, as a rule, they get the plant food cheaper 

than by purchasing it in ready mixed goods. The mixing of 

fertilizer can be easily and cheaply done on the barn floor, 

by the aid of a hoe, shovel and coarse sand screen. 

The following figures give the approxi- __ __. . 

. Home iVi lying, 

mate percentage which each lOO pounds of 

the various ingredients will represent when they are added 

to ^ mixture and the whole made up to a ton or 2,000 

pounds. 

Each 100 pounds of dissolved South Carolina rock 
represents 7-10 per cent, of phosphoric acid in a ton 
mixture. 

Each 100 pounds of standard dried fish or tankage will 
represent | per cent, of ammonia and 4-10 per cent, of total 
phosphoric acid in a ton mixture. 

Each 100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda will represent 
about one (i) per cent, of ammonia when made up in a 
ton mixture. 

Each 100 pounds of high-grade sulphate of potash will 
represent about 2\ per cent, of potash when made up into 
a ton mixture. 

For illustration, a fertilizer which has been used with 
good results on the Station farm for tobacco was made up 
as follows: 

Dissolved South Carolina rock i»300 lbs. 

Tankage (10 per cent.) 400 lbs. 

Nitrate of Soda 100 lbs. 

High-grade sulphate of potash 200 lbs. 



This contained approximately: 



Total, 2,000 lbs. 



Phosphoric acid (P^ O5) . 9 to 10 per cent. 

Potash (K, O) " 5 " 

Ammonia 3 " 



Food for Terms Used in Discussing Fertilizers. 

Plants ° 

]~46 Nitrogen may exist in three distinct forms, viz., as 

Nitrates, as Nitrogenous organic matter, as ammonia salts. 

Nitrates furnish the most readily available forms of 
Nitrogen. The most common is Nitrate of Soda. 

Nitration, or nitrification, is the process by which soluble 
Nitrate is formed from the less available and less soluble 
Nitrogen of dried blood, cotton-seed meal, tankage and 
ammonia salts. It is due to the action of microscopic 
organisms, and all nitrogenous fertilizers must undergo this 
process of nitration before plants can use them. 

Phosphoric Acid, one of the essential fertilizing ingre- 
dients, is derived from materials called phosphates. It does 
not exist alone, but in combination, most commonly as 
phosphate of lime in the form of bones, Peruvian guano 
and Rock phosphate. Phosphoric acid occurs in fertilizers 
in two forms — available and insoluble phosphoric acid. 

Superphosphate. — In natural phosphates the phos- 
phoric acid is insoluble in water and not available to plants, 
except in the form of very fine powder. Superphosphate is 
prepared from these by grinding and treating with sulphuric 
acid, which makes the phosphoric acid more available. 
Superphosphates are sometimes called acid-phosphates. 
Peruvian guano contains much available phosphate when 
finely ground. 

Potash, as a constituent of fertilizers, exists in a number 
of forms, but chiefly as sulphate and muriate. The chief 
sources of potash are the potash salts, muriate of potash, 
sulphate of potash. Canada wood ashes and cotton-hull 
ashes are also sources of potash and also Nitrate of Potash. 



Ammoniates. 

Per Cent Lbs. Ammonia 

Ammonia. Per Ton. 

Nitrate of Soda 19 380 

Dried blood i4-5 295 

Tankage 13.3 266 

Dry fish scrap 10 



200 



Cotton-seed meal 0.5 170 

Barnyard manure 0.6 12 



Phosphates. 

Per Cent 
Phosphoric Acid. 

Superphosphate 14 

Ground bone 22 

Bone tankage 12 

Thomas slag 16 

Barnyard manure 032 

Potashes. 

Per Cent Actual 
Potash. 

Nitrate of Soda i to 3 

Muriate of potash 50 

Sulphate of potash 52 

Canada wood ashes 6 

Cotton-seed hull ashes 25 

Waste from gunpowder works 18 

jCorn cob ashes 23 

Maryland marls ^ • 25 

Peruvian guano 2.61 

Castor pumace 1.5 

Tobacco stems 6.5 

Barnyard manure ■ o • 43 

Sodas. 

Per Cent Actual 
Soda. 

Carbonate of Soda 50 

Sulphate of Soda 43 

Nitrate of Soda 35 



Food for 
Lbs. Phosphoric Plants 

Acid Per Ton. 

280 ^47 

440 
240 
320 
6.40 



Lbs. Potash 

Per Ton. 

20 to 60 

1,000 

1,040 

120 

400 

360 

460 

25 
52.2 

30 
130 



8.6 



Lbs. Soda 
Per Ton. 

1,000 

860 

700 



SOUTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION. 



From Bulletin No. 56. 



/. Comparison of Varieties. 

II. Quantity of Seed per Acre. 

III. Experiment with Nitrogen. 



Wheat. 

IV. Home Manures. 

V. Commercial Fertilizers. 

VI. Tillage. 



Page 5. 

If wheat is sown upon land deficient in 
organic matter, it is wise to use a complete 
fertilizer, containing Nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. 



Fertilizers. 



Food for 
Plants 



// wheat shows an unhealthy appearance in early spring, 

especially upon sandy lands, an application of seventy-five 

^48 pounds of Nitrate of Soda will prove beneficial provided there is 

enough phosphoric acid in the soil to co-operate with it to make 

the grain. 

Experiment with Nitrogen. 

^. . To compare effects of Nitrogen from cot- 

ton-seed meal and Nitrate of Soda and the 
latter applied with the seed and as a top-dressing. 

The intention was to use on each plot a constant quan- 
tity of phosphoric acid and potash as the equivalent of 
these ingredients in 200 pounds of cotton-seed meal. 

The first plot received cotton-seed meal 

alone, yield 17.5 bus. 

The second, phosphoric acid and potash 
and Nitrate of Soda all applied with 
the seed, yield 20 . 8 bus. 

The third received only phosphoric acid 

and potash, yield 17.6 bus. 

The fourth received in addition to phos- 
phoric acid and potash applied with the 
seed, Nitrate of Soda as a top-dress, 
yield 1 9 4 bus. 



UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERIMENT STATION. 



Timely Hints for Farmers, No. 31. 

PROF. W. W. SKINNER. 

A fertilizer of about the composition given below has 
frequently been advised by the Station for fertilizing orange 
orchards, and is believed to be in every way suited to the 
purpose. It should be applied at the rate of from 500 to 
1,500 pounds to the acre, according to age of trees and 



quality of soil, and " plowed in deeply at the edge of the ^°°^ ^^'^ 
branches, about the beginning of the growing season." ^^ 



Formula : Pounds. 

Bone tankage (lo per cent, ammonia) l,ooo 

Nitrate of Soda 140 

Sulphate of potash 60 

Dissolved bone (i6 per cent, available phosphoric acid) 800 

2,000 



PURDUE UNIVERSITY, 

INDIANA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT 

STATION, 

LAFAYETTE, IND, 
C. S. PLUMB, Director. 



Bulletin No. 84. 
Growing Lettuce With Chemical Fertilizers. 

BY PROF. WILLIAM STUART. 

The subject of lettuce culture with chemical fertilizers 
was undertaken bv the writer some years ago, and has been 
continued. 

Page 134. 

It IS safe to infer that for any quick . ., . ...^ . 
, ' 7 • • r Availabihty of 

growing crops, or where an application of „. 

Nitrogen is desirable in the maturing of a 

crop, the Nitrate of Soda is preferable to dried blood. 

The results obtained from the several Conclusions 

experiments enumerated seem to invite the Pertaining to 

following conclusions: Nitrate of Soda. 

1. That in order to study the action of the three essen- 
tial elements of plant food, Nitrogen, phosphorus and 
potassium, a soil must be used that is fairly deficient in 
plant food. 

2. That potash when used in any considerable amount, 
either alone or in connection with Nitrate of Soda, pro- 
duced conditions unsuitable to plant growth. 

^. When phosphoric acid was used alone or in con- 
nection with Nitrate of Soda or muriate of potash, even in 



149 



Food for large amounts, a marked increase in the growth of the 

5^^^ plants was obtained. 

150 4. The muriate of potash proved somewhat superior to 

the sulphate, the increase in each case being but sHght. 

5. But httle difference seems to obtain in the efficiency 
of different forms of available phosphoric acid. 

6. In each instance chemical fertilizers proved slightly 
superior to stable manures. 

7. The application of liquid fertilizers from below by 
the sub-watering method proved perfectly feasible and gave 
satisfactory results. 

8. Nitrate of Soda gave quicker returns than did dried 
blood, and seems best adapted to lettuce culture. 

9. The sub-watered plants made a better growth than 
the surface watered ones. 



MASSACHUSETTS EXPERIMENT STATION. 

T, ,.,. r Since i8q2 the Massachusetts Hatch Sta- 

Fertihzers for • 1 l 1 • • r 

^ , _ tion has been conauctme series 01 experi- 

Garden Crops. , , . ° , r ~kt- 

ments to test the relative value of Nitrate 

of Soda, sulphate of ammonia, and dried blood, as sources 

of Nitrogen for different garden crops; and, at the same 

time, to make a comparison of muriate with sulphate of 

potash, when used with each of the three Nitrogenous 

fertilizers for the same class of crops. Dissolved bone-black 

was applied equally to all plats from the first. These 

experiments were continued unvaried until 1897. Sulphate 

of potash in connection with Nitrate of Soda generally gave 

the best crop; in cases where it did not, it gave one but 

slightly inferior to the best except in the case of one crop, 

sweet corn, a plant which makes much of its growth in the 

latter part of the season. Nitrate of Soda in almost every 

instance proved the most valuable source of Nitrogen, whether 

used with muriate or sulphate of potash. Sulphate of 

ammonia and muriate of potash when used together gave 

the poorest yield in every instance. 

Up to 1897, as has been already stated, only chemical 

fertilizers were used, but in 1898 a change was made in the 

plan of the experiment. In view of the fact that market 

gardeners, in whose interest chiefly these experiments were 



carried out, almost invariably use large quantities of stable ^°°^ ^°^ 

manure, and employ commercial fertilizers, if at all, simply . 

to supplement the manure, it was decided to apply equal ^^^ 
amounts of thoroughly mixed stable manure to each plat 
and to use in addition the same fertilizers as before. 
Further, in order to have the best data for determining 
whether the fertilizers should prove in any degree useful, 
another plat was added to which manure alone was applied. 
A number of different garden crops were grown, including 
spinach, lettuce, table beets, tomatoes, and cabbage; and, 
as a second crop, turnips. 

Spinach gave by far the best results with _ . 

Nitrate of Soda. With sulphate of am- 
monia it was almost an absolute failure, many plants dying 
soon after germination and most of the others becoming 
yellow and sickly. Sulphate of potash gave better returns 
than the muriate. Similar results were obtained with beets. 
Most of the plants on the sulphate of ammonia plats became 
weak and sickly and many died. The results with tomatoes 
were also in part similar. Sulphate of potash gave better 
returns than the muriate, and Nitrate of Soda gave the best 
yield of any of the sources of Nitrogen. This is thought to 
be due to the fact that the tomato is not set until about the 
first of June, and makes most of its growth when the season 
is well advanced. By this time the injurious compounds 
formed by the sulphate of ammonia have been washed away 
by rain or destroyed by further chemical changes. The 
crops that were injured by the sulphate of ammonia — spinach 
and beets — are sown early and make most of their growth 
before the season is far advanced. 

Lettuce yielded better on barnyard manure alone than 
on the plats to which fertilizers were also applied. The 
result is in line with results obtained at the New York State 
Station, where it was found that ''after the soil has received 
a heavy application of stable manure, any further addition 
of chemical fertilizers is only thrown away." Here, as 
before, sulphate of ammonia was found to be highly injurious. 

Cabbage appeared to be somewhat benefited by the 
addition of fertilizers to barnyard manure. The difference 
in the effect of the different fertilizers was not very marked. 
Nitrate of Soda appeared to be the best source of Nitrogen. 



Food for Xhe plats from which the beets, lettuce and spinach had 

been harvested were plowed and sowed to turnips without 

152 further fertilizing. In this case the crop was decidedly 

better on the plats which had received fertilizers in addition 

to manure. 



MARYLAND 
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



Bulletin No. 91. 
Page 44. Table 7. 

Nitrate of Soda vs. No Nitrate of Soda Applied on Wheat; 
Wheat Unfertilized in Fall. 

Plot No. Yield of Grain per Acre, Bushels. 

1. Neither fertilizer nor Nitrate of Soda 10.4 

2. Nitrate of Soda, with no Other Fertilizer 181* 

Comparison of Nitrate of Soda and Sulphate of 
Ammonia Both With and Without Lime. 

As has already been explained, the Nitrate of Soda and 
Sulphate of Ammonia represent the mineral sources of Nitro- 
gen commonly found on the market. The Nitrate of Soda 
is readily soluble in water and is directly available to plants; 
while the Sulphate of Ammonia, though quite soluble, has to 
be changed into a nitrate before it can be used by crops. 
Hence the action of these two materials is not the same on 
different soils and under varying weather conditions. The 
Sulphate has been preferred by some because it would act 
slower and was not so liable to leach from the soil; yet if 
conditions for nitration were unfavorable, it might not be 
available to the crop when needed. Again, under some 
circumstances, Sulphate of Ammonia has been found to be 
actually harmful to plants. The use of Lime in connection 
with the Sulphate of Ammonia has been found by Professor 
Wheeler, of Rhode Island, to be valuable, in many cases, 
as a correction of its harmful effects and to be necessary 
for its nitrification. Professor Wheeler has made a very 
exhaustive study of the use of Lime with these mineral 
sources of Nitrogen; they agree, in the main, with the results 
obtained at this Station. 

*Gain of 7.8 busheU, cr seventy-five per cent. 



Food for 
Plants 



Some Practical Hints Regarding 

Nitrate. '53 

It is the quickest acting plant food known. 

It is immediately available for the use of plants as soon 
as it goes into solution. 

It does most of its work in one season. More must not be 
expected of it, as it gives quick returns and large profits 
when properly applied. It tends to sweeten sour land. 

When applied broadcast it should be evenly distributed. 
In applying lOO pounds to an acre, one pound has to be 
evenly spread over 48 square yards, and this requires care 
and skill. 

It is well to mix it with sand, marl, ashes, land plaster 
or some other finely divided material of about the same 
weight in order to secure a more even distribution. 

Where plants are grown in hills or drills it should be 
applied near the growing plants and thoroughly mixed with 
the soil. 

It does not matter whether it is sown in dry or wet 
weather except that when applied broadcast to crops like 
cabbage, which have a large leaf surface, it should be done 
when the leaves are not wet from rain or dew. 

It does not blow away, and dews are almost sufficient 
to dissolve it. It is not necessary to wait for rain. 

It should be sown early in the spring for cereals, just 
as they are starting to make their first growth; for roots, 
after they are transplanted or set out. 

Autumn sowing is generally not advisable except as an 
extra top-dressing for Danish or winter cabbage just as they 
are starting to head, which is practiced very profitably by 
large cabbage growers. 

It enables the plant to make use of the necessary mineral 
elements in the soil to the best advantage. 

There are no unknown conditions that enter in, in refer- 
ence to the solubility, and hence the availability of Nitrate 
of Soda. 



Food for 



Planets The Use of Nitrogenous Fertilizers 

on Vegetables. 



Kale. 

An application of 50 pounds of Nitrate of Soda and 100 
pounds of Dried Fish per acre, in May, increased the growth 
30 per cent. 

Lettuce. 

An appHcation in March at the rate of 250 pounds of 
Nitrate of Soda and 750 pounds of Dried Fish per acre, 
to Lettuce, in cold frames, made the crop ready to market 
one week sooner and increased the yield five pounds per sash 
or 12,000 pounds per acre; which at two cents per head 
would have a value of ^240 per acre. 

Potatoes. 

Several experiments have been tried on the use of Nitrate 
of Soda as a top-dressing for early potatoes. This was 
applied at the rate of 100 pounds per acre, after the potatoes 
were up and started to growing. One year this treatment 
increased the yield of merchantable potatoes 100 bushels per 
acre, and the average of several years was 20 per cent, 
increase. 

Tomatoes. 

Some of the early work of this Station was with fertilizers 
for tomatoes. The results in detail are given in Bulletin 
No. 91, but it showed that Nitrate of Soda was particularly 
active with this crop and produced a larger increase than any 
other single ingredient. An application of 160 pounds per 
acre caused an increase of as much as five tons of tomatoes. 

There has been much valuable work conducted upon the 
use of Nitrogenous Fertilizers with various crops, and par- 
ticularly vegetables. This work has proven that this plant 
food is a potent factor in increasing the yields and improving 
the quality. 



With regard to the matter of fertihzing cantaloupes, con- ^°°^ ^'^^ 
tinuous and rapid growth is essential to earliness and a good ^°^^ 
crop, and Nitrate of Soda under the proper r- + i ^^^ 

itions and with proper care, will yield ^ 

such results. A dressing of Nitrate of Soda alongside the 
rows in cultivating, in addition to the general fertilizer used, 
has been most successful. A general fertilizer may be made 
up as follows: 

Dried Blood or Cotton-Seed Meal 400 lbs. 

Superphosphate (14 per cent.) or Peruvian guano 600 lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 200 lbs. 

The points to be observed in the use of ^ , ^ . . 

f.j- re J A J J General Points as 

Nitrate of boda are: Avoid an excess, and ^ ,, ,, , , 

• J irr -LI- r to Method 01 

avoid wetting the foliage with solutions 01 . .. . 

it, and do not sprinkle the wet fohage with 
dry Nitrate, and in general Nitrate must not be allowed to 
come in contact with the stems or leaves of plants. Nitrate 
of Soda is a nitrated ammoniate, and is immediately available 
as plant food. The general fertilizer above suggested may 
be applied at the rate of 1,200 pounds to the acre, and subse- 
quent applications of Nitrate of Soda may be made at the 
rate of 100 pounds to the acre, say about two weeks apart, 
during the growing season, and best by placing the Nitrate 
well mixed with land plaster or fine dry soil before applying, 
say one-quarter of an ounce to one-half of an ounce to each 
hill. There is no Nitrogenous Fertilizer in the market at the 
present time which sells as low as thirteen cents a pound for 
the Nitrogen contained in it, which is what Nitrate Nitrogen 
would cost at the price of ^2.00 per cwt. In looking at 
quotations Nitrogen in Sulphate of Ammonia costs fifteen 
or sixteen cents wholesale; and Dried Blood, Tankages and 
Mixed Fertilizers anywhere from sixteen to twenty cents. 
Nitrate is, therefore, the cheapest Ammjniate in the market 
even at its present quoted price of two dollars and twenty-five 
cents a hundred. The latter price is wholesale and applies 
only to lots of five tons or more. The prices for all Nitro- 
genous Fertilizers are likewise wholesale for five to fifteen- 
ton lots, and smaller amounts cost more. It should be borne 
in mind that prices for all agricultural crops have risen pro- 
portionately much higher than Nitrogenous Fertilizers, and 
especially so as to Nitrate of Soda. 



Food' for Nitrate for Experiments. 

As Nitrate is a Powerful Plant Tonic and Energizer tt ts NOT a stimulant 

156 tn any sense of the word; a very small quantity does a very large amount of 
work. Broadcast the Nitrate as soon as the frost leaves the ground 
in the spring. 

I never recommend the use of Nitrate of Soda alone, except at the rate 
of not more than one hundred (100) pounds to the acre, when it may be used 
without other fertilizers. The phosphatic and potassic manures should 
usually be applied in connection with Nitrate of Soda at the rate of about 
two hundred and fifty (250) pounds to the acre of each, or if used on the 
plots (20 (t. by 20 ft.) not more than three pounds of each should be applied 
thereto. One hundred pounds per acre you will generally find profitable for 
all crops. It will be found quite satisfactory also in its after effect and in 
perceptibly sweetening sour land. 

- According to Dr. Wheeler's experiments 

in Rhode Island soils are less exhausted 
when complete fertilizers are used with Nitrate than when 
no Nitrate is used. The Soda always left behind after the 
Nitrate of Soda is used up conserves always the Lime and 
Potash, and unlocks the soil Silicates and thereby frees 
Lime and Magnesia. The Feeding value of Hay is far 
greater when Nitrate is used as a fertilizer in this con- 
nection. 

Rhode Island Formula: 

Nitrate of Soda 300 lbs. 

Sulphate of potash 200 lbs. 

Acid phosphate or its equivalent in Thomas slag 400 lbs. 



Manures. 

Dr. Voelcker, F.R.S., made analyses of fresh and rotted 
farmyard manures. These analyses show a larger percent- 
age of soluble organic matter in rotted than in fresh manure. 
The fresh manure contains more carbon and more water, 
while in the rotted manure the Nitrogen is in more available 
form for root-absorption. 

If the process of fermentation has been well managed, 
both fresh and rotted manures contain the same amounts of 
Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash. 
J . There should be a sufficient amount of 

litter to absorb and retain the urine and 
also the ammonia formed in the decomposition of the manure. 
Leaves, straw, sawdust, moss, etc., to which is added some 
peat, muck, or fine, dry, loamy earth, mixed with gypsum 



Food for 
Plants 



(land plaster), may be used for litter. The relative value of the 

manure is diminished by the use of too much litter, but on the 

contrary, if insufficient absorbent material is used, too much *57 

moisture prevents fermentation and the consequent chemical 

changes in the nitrogenous constituents of the manure. 

The best method for the management of „ . , 

^ , . Ill- Management of 

farmyard manure is to make and keep it p, y , 

under cover, in sheds, or better still, in __ 

covered pits from which there can be no 

loss by drainage. It should also be kept sufficiently moist, 

and by the addition of charcoal, peat, or vegetable refuse 

and gypsum the volatilization of ammonia may be reduced 

to a minimum. Manure so made is v^orth 50 per cent, more 

than that throv^n into a heap in the barnyard to be leached 

by the storms of months before being spread upon the land. 

Where pits cannot be provided the manure pile should 
rest upon a hard, clay bottom, or on a thick layer of peat or 
vegetable refuse, v^hich acts as an absorbent and prevents 
the loss of much liquid manure. 

The time-honored custom of hauling manure upon the 

land and of dumping it in small heaps from two to three 

feet in height, is a wasteful and clumsy practice that should 

be abandoned by every farmer. 

A simple and effectual way of disposing; ^ _ 
r 1 • 1 1 r • r to Farm Sewage 

or the night-soil on a farm is to so construct _. . 

the closet that the urine will at once drain 
to a lower level, and there be mixed with an equal quantity 
of quicklime. The solid excrement should be covered daily 
with a small quantity of quicklime mixed with a little fine 
charcoal or peat. Such a receptacle can be made by any 
farmer at comparatively little cost, and will more than com- 
pensate for the care it entails by doing away with ill-smelling 
odors and the disagreeable and often dangerous task of 
cleaning vaults, besides furnishing a very rich manurial 
product for admixture with farm-yard manure or compost. 
Such receptacle should be made in the form of a shallow 
drawer or box with an inclined bottom, and should rest upon 
stout runners like a stone boat or drag, so that, at frequent 
intervals, it can be drawn by a horse to the manure pile or 
compost heap. 

On the bottom of the drawer should be kept a thin layer 
of quick-lime mixed with peat, wood-pile dirt, or loam. 



Food for As an alkali, soda has no advantage over potash, since the 
decomposing action of the soda is rarely due to its alkalinity. 
158 Potash, if used in the form of wood-ashes, the lime car- 
bonate of the ashes, will neutralize the acid properties of 
the peat, and the growth of the Nitrate ferment will thus 
be greatly promoted. 

Soda is, in rare instances, needful as a plant food; if 
needed it would be better economy to use soda ash. In 
these composts the writer invariably substitutes kainit, or 
other products of the German mines, for common salt. 

„ , „ Sawdust, leaves, cornstalks, tan bark, and 

How to Save n 1 • j r li -1 

all kmds or coarse vegetable materials are 

more rapidly decomposed by the aid of 
caustic alkalies than by any other means. Coarse materials, 
like cornstalks, trimmings from fruit trees, hedges, grape 
vines, etc., are rich in plant food, and instead of being 
burned should be composted with potash and lime in 
separate heaps. More time must be allowed for the decom- 
position of coarse materials, and they should always be 
composted in large heaps and kept moist. 

The process of nitration in the niter-bed, 
Nitrification or ^1 ^1 • ^u -i • • 1 

^. . the compost heap, or in the sou is precisely 

iiitratioii. 1 /npi /- • f "NT" 

the same. 1 he formation 01 JNitrates is 

due to the continuous life and development of a micro- 
organism known as the nitric ferment or nitric bacteria, 
which lives upon the nitrogenous organic matters, ammo- 
nium compounds, and other things present in the soil. 
The nitric ferment is a microscopic plant somewhat like 
the yeast used for leavening bread, and for fermenting malt 
liquors; and under favorable conditions of temperature and 
moisture, and in the presence of oxygen is propagated with 
marvelous rapidity in the soil. One of the results of the life 
of this minute plant is the formation of Nitrates. 

Nitration is extremely feeble in winter and at tempera- 
tures below 40° F. almost entirely ceases. It is most active 
at about 98° F. to 99° F., and is more rapid in the dark than 
in bright sunlight. At temperatures above 100° F. the 
formation of Nitrates rapidly decreases and at 131° F. en- 
tirely ceases. As we have just stated, it has been noticed 
that the nitric ferment thrives best in the dark, and, hence, 
one good reason for making compost beds under sheds or in 
sheltered situations. When so made the conditions for 



nitrification are more favorable and the beds are protected ^^^'^ ^^^ 
from the leaching action of storms. ^" ^ 

To ensure rapid nitrification all the food elements required '59 
by the nitric ferment must be present. The ash ingredients 
of plants, phosphates, ammonia, carbonaceous matter, and 
an excess of oxygen must be present. 

Peat containing much copperas, coal-tar, gas-lime con- 
taining sulphites and sulphides, kill the ferment. The 
Nitrate ferment is developed during the slow decay of 
organic matter in all soils. 

How to Make Commercial Valuations. 

First, of unmixed chemicals. 

Multiply the guaranteed per cent, of ^.. . ^, ^.^ 
^r- ' rn 1 ^° ^ 1 • 1 • 1 Nitrate 01 Sooa. 

Nitrate of Soda by 16.47, which gives the 

per cent, of Nitrogen; multiply the per cent, of Nitrogen thus 

obtained by the trade value of Nitrogen in the form of 

Nitrates (15 cents per pound), then multiply the last result 

by 20, w^hich gives the value per ton. 

Example. — A Nitrate of Soda is guaranteed to be 95 per 
cent, pure; that is, the total impurities in it amount to 5 per 
cent.: 95 X 16.47 — ^5-^4- P^^ ^^"t. of Nitrogen; 15.64 X 15 
(trade value for 1892) rz 234 cents, or ^2.34, value of Nitro- 
gen in 100 pounds; ^2.34 X 20 iz: ^46.80, value per ton. 

Multiply the per cent, of ammonia by c 1 j, t f 
.8235, and then multiply the result by the . 

trade value of Nitrogen in ammonia salts, 
17^ cents; multiply the result by 20, w^hich gives the value 
per ton. 

Example. — A manufacturer guarantees his sulphate of 

ammonia to contain 22 per cent, of ammonia: 22 X -^235 rz: 

18.12 per cent, of Nitrogen; 18.12 X ^7^ = 3^7 cents, or 

$3.17, the value of Nitrogen in 100 pounds of sulphate of 

ammonia; $3.17 X 20 = ^63.40, value per ton. 

Multiply the guaranteed per cent, of sul- o 1 t. i. x 
, r^-^ 1 1 1-11 1 Sulphate of 

phate of potash by .54; multiply the result p + h 

by the trade value for potash in high-grade 

sulphate (5 cents) and multiply the last result by 20. 

Example. — A high-grade sulphate of potash is guaranteed 

by the manufacturer to contain 45 per cent, of sulphate of 

potash: 45 X -54 ^ 24.30 per cent, of actual potash; 24.30 



Food for \^ ^ _- 122 cents, or $1.22, the value of actual potash in 

^^^°*^ 100 pounds of sulphate; ;^i.22 X 20 = $24.40, value per ton. 

160 « . . f p + ii Multiply the guaranteed per cent, of 

X muriate (chloride) by .63; then multiply 

^ ^ ^* the result by the trade value for potash in 

the form of muriate (4^ cents per pound for 1892), and 

multiply the last result by 20. 

Example. — A muriate of potash is guaranteed to contain 
80 per cent, of muriate (chloride): 80 X -63 = 50.40 per 
cent, of actual potash; 50.40 X 42 cents = 227 cents, or 
$2.27, the value of actual potash in 100 pounds of sulphate; 
$2.27 X 20 ^ $45.40, value per ton. 

Second. How to make a commercial valuation of a fer- 
tilizer from a guarantee-analysis as given by manufacturers. 

The statements of guarantee-analysis as used by manu- 
facturers differ considerably in form, and the amount of 
each constituent is usually stated as being between two more 
or less widely varying limits. Thus, we are offered a fer- 
tilizer which in the guaranteed analysis is stated to contain: 
Ammonia, from 2 to 3 per cent.; available phosphoric acid, 
8 to 10 per cent.; insoluble phosphoric acid, 2 to 3 per cent.; 
and potash, equal to 3 to 5 per cent. In estimating the 
valuation from such form of statement of analysis the lower 
numbers should be always used, for the manufacturer is 
held legally only to the lower figures given in the guarantee. 
The per cent, of Nitrogen in the guarantee-analysis is most 
usually given in the form of ammonia, and the per cent, of 
potash may be given in the form of sulphate or muriate 
(chloride) of potash. When the per cent, of organic Nitrogen 
is given multiply the per cent, of Nitrogen by the trade value 
adopted for organic Nitrogen in mixed fertilizers. But if the 
Nitrogen is stated in the form of ammonia, multiply the guar- 
anteed per cent, of ammonia by .8235, which will give the 
per cent, of actual Nitrogen; then multiply the result by the 
trade value for organic Nitrogen in mixed fertilizers, which 
will give the value of the Nitrogen in 100 pounds of fertilizer. 
Thus, in the fertilizer given above the per cent, of ammonia 
in the guaranteed analysis is from 2 to 3 per cent. As 
directed, we take the lower number, 2 per cent.: 2 X -^235 
ziz 1.65 per cent, of Nitrogen; 1.65 X 15^ cents r= 25.58 
cents. 



The per cent, of available phosphoric acid is guaranteed ^oo** ^or 
to be from 8 to lo per cent.: 8 X 4^ cents := 36 cents. ^^^°*^ 
Insoluble phosphoric acid: 2X2 cents =: 4 cents. ^^^ 

The guaranteed per cent, of potash is 3 to 5 per cent. 
But the statement of analysis does not tell the form in which 
the potash is present. AH we know is that there is from 
3 to 5 per cent, of actual potash contained in the fertilizer, 
so we will give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and assume 
the potash to be in the form of muriate (chloride) : 3 X 4^ 
cents = 132^ cents. 

We now have the value in cents of the Nitrogen, available 
and insoluble phosphoric acid, and potash. Add these 
together and the sum is the value in cents of the total fertiliz- 
ing constituents in 100 pounds of fertilizer. This sum 
multiplied by 20 gives the value in cents of one ton. 

Example: — 

Nitrogen i .65 X 15^ = 25.5 cents. 

Available phosphoric acid 8 X 7^ = 36.0 " 

Insoluble phosphoric acid 2X2 = 4.0 " 

Potash 3X 4i=i3-5 " 

Total value of 100 pounds 79-0 cents. 

79 X 20 izz 1580 cents, or $15.80 value per ton. 

If the potash is given in the form of sulphate we find the 
equivalent of actual potash by multiplying the per cent, of 
sulphate by .54 and the result by the trade value, 5 j cents. 
If the potash is given in the form of muriate (chloride), 
multiply the per cent, of muriate (chloride) by .63 and the 
result by the trade value, 4^ cents. 

Example i. — A manufacturer's guarantee-analysis is 
8 to 10 per cent, of potash as sulphate: 8 X -54 ^= 4-32 per 
cent, of actual potash; 4.32 X Sh cents =z 23.7 cents, the 
trade value of actual potash as sulphate in 100 pounds of 
fertilizer. 

Example 2. — A manufacturer's guarantee-analysis is 6 to 
8 per cent, of potash as muriate (chloride): 6 X 63 = 3.78 
per cent, of actual potash; 3.78 X 4^ =^ i7-0 cents, trade 
value of actual potash as muriate in 100 pounds of fertilizer. 

Summary of the methods heretofore used in converting one 
chemical compound into an equivalent of another chemical 
compound. 

{a) To change Nitrogen into an equivalent amount of 
ammonia, multiply the given amount of Nitrogen by 1.2 14. 



Food for ^^^ Yo convert ammonia into an equivalent amount of 
^° ^ Nitrogen, multiply the given amount of ammonia by .8235. 
^^2 ^c) To convert a guaranteed per cent, of Nitrate of Soda 

to an equivalent of Nitrogen multiply the per cent, of Nitrate 
of Soda by 16.47. 

(d) To convert a guaranteed per cent, of sulphate of 
potash to an equivalent of actual potash multiply the per 
cent, of sulphate by .54. 

(e) To convert muriate (chloride) of potash to an equiva- 
lent amount of actual potash, multiply the per cent, of muri- 
ate (chloride) by .63. 

(/) To convert actual potash to an equivalent per cent, 
of sulphate of potash, multiply the per cent, of actual potash 
by 1.85. 

(g) To convert potash to an equivalent per cent, of muri- 
ate (chloride) of potash, multiply the per cent, of actual 
potash by 1.585. 

We now have the data for estimating the commercial 
values of fertilizers from the guarantee-analyses as usually 
published by manufacturers. We may in a few moments 
calculate the comparative commercial values of different 
trade-brands, and be governed in buying by their actual 
commercial values and by the requirements of our soil and 
the crops to be grown. Or, if we have an eye to saving from 
twenty to thirty per cent, by mixing our own fertilizers dur- 
ing the idle winter months, when we can usually buy agri- 
cultural chemicals cheaper than at any other season of the 
year, we can now proceed intelligently and prepare chemical 
manures containing just such percentages of Nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash, as soil and crop requirements 
demand. 

We ascertain the cheapest source of raw materials, esti- 
mate our wants and buy for cash on guaranteed analyses. 
Or, better still, by co-operating with several other farmers we 
purchase, at wholesale, sufficient raw materials for our com- 
bined use. With a few hoes and shovels, a good-sized ash 
sieve, and an even barn floor we are ready for work. 

-_. . _ We proceed to spread the weighed raw 

Mixing Raw • 1 • l • 1 u u a 

-_ 7 . materials in thin layers on the barn floor, 

building them layer upon layer to a height 

convenient for easy manipulation; then intimately mix with 

hoes by working the piles over from the outward edge inward. 



pass the mixed materials through the sieve, and having ^^od for 

secured an even admixture, store the finished materials ^^*^ 

away in bags or barrels until needed for use. 163 

Examples. — We want a complete high-grade fertilizer 
for general use, and decide it shall contain from 4 to 5 per 
cent, of Nitrogen, 8 to 9 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and 
from 6 to 7 per cent, of potash. In making an approximate 
estimate of our wants we will take the higher numbers given. 
Then for one ton we want — Nitrogen 5 per cent, (or 5 pounds 
in each 100 pounds of fertilizer) X 20 = 100 pounds, phos- 
phoric acid (available) 9 per cent. X 20 := 180 pounds, and 
potash 7 per cent. X 20 zr 140 pounds. 

The tables of analyses in the appendix have been care- 
fully consulted before purchasing and our raw materials 
have been bought upon guaranteed analyses, are of good 
merchantable quality and are up to the standard of guarantee. 
We conclude to get our three essential components from a 
variety of materials and proceed thus: 



Mater- 
ial, 




Nitro- 
gen, 
Lbs. 


Phosphoric Acid, Lbs. 


Potash, 
Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Avail- 
able. 


Insolu- 
ble. 


Total. 


200 
250 
100 


Nitrate of Soda 

Sulphate of ammonia.. . . 
Dried blood 


31 50 

51-25 

10.52 

9. 10 


47-35 
133-60 


1. 91 

14.24 
2.40 


1. 91 

61.59 

136.00 




350 
800 

200 


Dissolved bone meal 

Dissolved bone-black. . . . 
Muriate of potash (chlor- 
ide) 


104.92 
38.60 


100 


Sulphate of potash (high 
erade) 










2,000 


Total quantities in i ton. . 
Per cent, in i ton 


102.37 
5-II 


180.95 
9.04 


18.55 
.92 


199.50 
9-97 


143-52 
7-17 



Now let us suppose that out of these same materials we 
wish to make a fertilizer containing from i to 2 per cent, of 
Nitrogen, 6 to 8 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and from 2 to 3 
per cent, of potash. We have four ingredients that supply 
Nitrogen, namely. Nitrate of Soda, sulphate of ammonia, 
dried blood, and dissolved bone meal, and they supply it in 
the three forms of nitric acid, ammonia, and organic Nitrogen. 



i64 



Food for Wg want from 20 to 40 pounds of Nitrogen, 120 to 160 pounds 
of phosphoric acid, and from 40 to 60 pounds of potash. 
In compounding our formula we will take the higher number 
for Nitrogen (40 pounds), and will take the Nitrogen in about 
equal proportions; that is, 10 pounds of Nitrogen from each 
of the four nitrogenous constituents. We begin with Nitrate 
of Soda, containing 15.75 pounds of Nitrogen in each 100 
pounds of the Nitrate. Now, how many pounds of Nitrate 
of Soda must we have to get 10 pounds of Nitrogen ? It is a 
very simple calculation; since in 100 pounds there are 15.75 
pounds of Nitrogen there must be in i pound of Nitrate of 
Soda the one-hundredth part of 15.75 pounds, or .1575 
pounds of Nitrogen. Hence, we must have about 63^ 
pounds of Nitrate of Soda.* 

We make a similar calculation for sulphate of ammonia, 
as follows: 100 pounds of sulphate of ammonia contain 
20.50 per cent, of Nitrogen. Therefore, i pound of sulphate 
of ammonia contains the one-hundredth part of 20.50, or 
.2050, and we have .2050 -f- 10,000 zz 48.7 pounds, or we 
simply take 50 pounds of sulphate of ammonia, which con- 
tain 10.25 pounds of Nitrogen. Like calculations for all 
the raw materials are made, and, after estimating the required 
quantities for all the constituents, we have: 



Mater- 
ial, 




Nitro- 
gen, 
Lbs. 


Phosphoric Acid, Lbs 


Potash, 
Lbs. 


Lbs. 


Avail- 
able. 


Insolu- 
ble. 


Total. 


63i 

100 

400 

515 

100 


Nitrate of Soda 

Sulphate of ammonia. . . . 

Dried blood 

Dissolved bone meal 

Dissolved bone-black 

Sulphate of potash (high 
erade) 


10.00 

10.25 

10.52 

10.40 


54.12 
86.00 


16.2S 
1-54 


1. 91 
70.40 
87-54 


38.60 
23.60 


45 


Muriate (chloride) 




1,273^ 


Total quantities in i ton.. 
Per cent, in i ton 


41.17 
2.05 


140.12 
7.00 


17.82 
0.89 


159.85 

7-99 


62.20 
311 



*.I575-^ 10,000 X 6354 pounds. 



. We have the required percentages of Nitrogen, available ^oo<* ^or 
phosphoric acid, and potash, but instead of i ton of 2,000 ^"^^ 
pounds we have only 1,2732 pounds of materials. We ^^^ 
may add 721^ pounds of land plaster, peat, coal ashes, or 
loam to make up the ton. 

This formula illustrates the question often raised by 
farmers: "Why does the sum of the fertilizing constituents 
in the analysis of a fertilizer amount to so much less than 
the total weight of the fertilizer, and what is used by the 
manufacturer to make up the difference.^" We find that 
when the percentages of Nitrogen, total phosphoric acid, and 
potash are added together, the sum of their weights range 
between 16 and 30 per cent, of the total weight, and that in 
each ton of fertilizer there is from 70 to 84 per cent, of 
something else. This great difference is not due to dishon- 
esty on the part of manufacturers or dealers in agricultural 
chemicals. The essential elements are always combined 
with other substances which often are of no use whatever to 
growing crops. Thus, in 100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda 
we have only 15.75 pounds of Nitrogen and 84.25 pounds of 
sodium, oxygen, and moisture, and so it is with all other 
constituents of fertilizers — the greater part of the weight is 
made up of moisture, dirt, etc. In many States of the 
Union there is much greater protection against fraud in 
buying commercial fertilizers than in the purchase of food 
or clothing. 

But commercial fertilizers or raw materials, for mixing, 
should never be bought except upon guaranteed analyses, 
and with strict regard to soil requirements and the character 
of the crop to be fed. 

In the above formula we might slightly change the per- 
centages of fertilizing constituents, and probably get a better 
crop effect by the change. We might drop out the muriate 
of potash and reduce the sulphate of potash to 50 pounds, 
and then substitute 821^ pounds of unleached wood ashes 
for the sulphate and muriate of potash left out. In the 
wood ashes there will be 45.21 pounds of potash and 
15.20 pounds of phosphoric acid. Our formula would 
then stand: 



Food for 

Plants Mater 
ial, 
Lbs 



1 66 



63i 

50 
100 
400 

82ii 



2,000 



Nitrate of Soda 

Sulphate of ammonia.. . . 

Dried blood 

Dissolved bone meal 

Dissolved bone-black. . . . 
Sulphate of potash (high 

grade) 

Wood-ashes (unleached) 



Total quantities in I ton. 
Per cent, in i ton 



Nitro- 
gen, 
Lbs. 



10.00 
10.25 
10.52 
10.40 



41.17 
2.05 



Phosphoric Acid, Lbs. 



Avail- 
able. 



54.12 
86.00 



1 40 . 1 2 

7.00 



Insolu- 
ble. 



16.28 
1-54 



17.82 
0.89 



Total. 



1. 91 
68.40 
87-54 



15.20 



173-05 
8.65 



Potash, 
Lbs. 



19-30 
45.21 

64.51 
3-22 



The Unit System. 

In the wholesale fertilizer trade some raw materials are 
bought and sold on the ''unit system.'' The unit is i per 
cent., or 20 pounds per ton. 

Thus, a lot of dried blood, containing 10.50 per cent, of 
Nitrogen, equivalent to 12.75 P^^ cent, of ammonia, is said 
to contain I2f units of ammonia, and, quoted at ^2.50 per 
unit, a ton will cost: I2f X ^2.50 = ^31. 8/^. 

A quotation of ^1.50 per unit of available phosphoric 
acid means ^1.50 for each 20 pounds contained in the 
material quoted. 

Illustration. — A manufacturer offers dissolved bone black 
guaranteed to contain 16 units of available phosphoric acid, 
at ^0.70 per unit: 16 X ^0.70 = $\ 1.20 per ton. 



Materials Used in Making Commercial or 



Chemical Manures. 

Nitrate of Soda or Chili saltpetre occurs in 
vast deposits in the rainless districts on the 
West coast of South America, chiefly in 
Peru, Chili, and Bolivia, from whence it is 
imported to this country for use in chemical manufacture 
and in agriculture. As imported into the United States, 
Nitrate of Soda usually contains from fifteen to sixteen per 



Nitrate of Soda 
or Chili 
Saltpetre. 



cent, of Nitrogen. Nitrate of Soda resembles common salt, ^°°^ ^^^ 

with which and sodium sulphate it is often adulterated. ^^ 1 

This salt is at once available as a direct fertilizer, and being ^^^ 
very soluble in water is therefore liable to be washed from 
soils. Whenever practicable its hould be applied as a top- 
dressing to growing crops, and if possible the dressings 
should be given in two or three successive rations. 

Nitrate of Soda is usually applied at the rate of from lOO 
to 200 pounds per acre on land previously dressed with 
farm-yard manure. To secure an even distribution, the 
Nitrate should be previously well mixed with from three to 
five parts of fine loam or sand. 

Much has been said and written about Nitrate of Soda 
exhausting the soil. This is all a mistake and is the out- 
come, of incorrect reasoning. Nitrate of Soda does not 
exhaust soils. It does promote the development of the leafy 
parts of plants, and its effects are at once noticeable in the 
deep, rich green, and vigorous growth of crops. The 
growth of plants is greatly energized by its use, for the 
Nitrate in supplying an abundance of nitrogenous food to 
plants, imparts to them a thrift and vigor which enables 
their roots to gather in the shortest time the largest amount 
of other needed foods from a greater surface of surrounding 
soil. Nitrate of Soda adds nothing of value to the soil but 
nitric acid. The thirty-seven to forty per cent, of soda 
which it contains is practically of no use to agricultural 
plants. In the increased crop contained by its use there 
must necessarily be more potash and phosphoric acid than 
would have been contained in a smaller crop on which the 
Nitrate of Soda had not been used. The increased con- 
sumption of phosphoric acid and potash is due to the in- 
crease in the weight of the crop. The office of the Nitrate 
is to convert the raw materials of the soil into a crop; for we 
obtain by its use, as Dr. Griffiths has tersely said, "the fullest 
crop with the greatest amount of profit, with the least 
damage to the land." 

On cereals Nitrate of Soda should be used __ __ , 

1 . , . , J , , How Used. 

alone or mixed with dry superphosphate 

and applied as a top-dressing. 

On grass lands it may be applied as a top-dressing at the 

rate of 150 to 200 pounds per acre. 



Plants 

1 68 



Food for Some of our most successful onion growers use Nitrate of 

■nt *_ oil • 

Soda at the rate of from 500 to 700 pounds per acre, applying 
the Nitrate in three successive top-dressings, the last ration 
being given when the crop is about half grown. 

From what is known of the fertilizing action of Nitrate of 
Soda, the following conclusions may be safely drawn, viz. : 

First. The Nitrate of Soda is, in most cases, a reliable 
manure for cereals, roots and grasses, increasing the yield 
over other nitrogenous manures. 

Second. Many crops grown with Nitrate of Soda mature 
from one to two weeks earlier than when grown with other 
nitrogenized manures. 

Third. The best results are obtained by applying the 
Nitrate to crops in fractional top-dressings during the active 
stages of growth. 

Fourth. Crops grown with Nitrate of Soda generally 
have a higher feeding value than those grown with other 
forms of Nitrogen. 

Fifth. Crops grown with Nitrate of Soda seem to resist 
the attacks of parasitic organisms better than those grown 
without its aid. 

Sixth. Nitrate of Soda does not exhaust the land. 

p. , . Although in the phosphatic guanos the 

Nitrogen compounds and the potash which 
they originally contained have been washed 
out by the rains, much of the phosphoric acid is in a form 
that can be more readily dissolved by the roots of plants and 
by the carbonic acid water of the soil than is the case with 
many of the finely ground rock-derived phosphates. Phos- 
phatic guanos, when finely powdered, do excellently for 
moist grass lands and in soils rich in humus, and are also 
excellent materials for working into composts or manure 
heaps. But the phosphatic guanos, of which the Jarves, 
Baker, and Rowland Islands are types, are rarely applied 
directly to the soil. They are chiefly valuable for the phos- 
phate of lime which they contain, and are used almost 
altogether in the manufacture of superphosphates. 

The phosphoric acid of natural phosphates, when finely 
enough powdered, is somewhat soluble in weak acids, and 
hence can be readily absorbed by the acid secretions of the 
roots of plants. 



This manure is specially recommended for peat, clay, ^^°'^ *^^ 
and sandy soils, also for moorlands and wet meadows. ^°^ 

It can be mixed with Nitrate of Soda, but such mixtures ^^9 
should only be made just before spreading on the land; 
this phosphate must not be mixed with sulphate of ammonia, 
as a part of the ammonia will be liberated and lost. English 
authorities recommend that basic slag phosphate, when used 
alone, be applied from six to eight weeks earlier than super- 
phosphate, because of the greater solubility of the super- 
phosphate; and that the basic phosphate be used in prefer- 
ence to superphosphate on wet, peaty, and marshy soils on 
account of its containing an excess of free lime, which 
neutralizes the organic acids of the soil. Dr. Paul Wagner 
recommends four and one-half hundredweight (five hundred 
and four pounds) of basic slag phosphate per acre for gen- 
eral crops. 



Economy in the Purchase of Fertilizers. 
Home Mixtures. 

Economy in the purchase of fertilizing materials or of 
agricultural chemicals depends not only on the price paid 
per pound or per ton, but also on the relation existing 
between the price paid and the amounts and forms of the 
Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash furnished. To illus- 
trate, we will assume that two fertilizers, both made from 
the best class of materials, are offered by a manufacturer at 
thirty dollars and thirty-five dollars per ton. The first is 
guaranteed to contain three per cent, of Nitrogen, seven per 
cent, of available phosphoric acid, and three per cent, of 
potash. The second is guaranteed to contain five per cent, 
of Nitrogen, ten per cent, of available phosphoric acid, and 
seven per cent, of potash. 

We have but to calculate the commercial values of these 
fertilizers to ascertain their true relation to the prices asked 
by the manufacturer. By simply multiplying the actual 
content of Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash by the 
trade values for these constituents in mixed fertilizers, we 
find that there is an actual difference of nearly ^14 in their 
commercial values, whereas the difference in price made by 
the manufacturer is only ^5. 



Food for No. I has a commercial value of less than ^24, while No. 

^^^"^^ 2 has a commercial value of nearly $37 per ton; or in No. i 

170 we are asked j^i.50 per 100 pounds for a fertilizer worth 

about ^1.16, and in No. 2 we are asked i^i.75 per 100 pounds 

for a fertilizer worth ^1.85. 

The fertilizer materials in the higher priced fertilizers 
are about thirty-three per cent, cheaper than those in the 
lower priced article. 

As a general rule the more concentrated the form of fertiliz- 
ing materials in commercial fertilizers, or the higher the grade 
of unmixed raw materials purchased by the farmer for home 
mixing, the greater will be the saving in actual cost. 

The higher the grade of materials the less will be the 
expense for freight, mixing, and spreading upon the land. 

There are these decided advantages about the mixing 
of materials at home, viz., each raw material can be sepa- 
rately examined, and if there is any cause for suspecting 
inferior forms of Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or potash, 
samples may be sent to the State Experiment Station for 
analysis. The detection of error or fraud is more certain 
and much easier in unmixed raw materials than in mixed 
■ fertilizers. Another important advantage of home-mixing 
is the opportunity afforded the intelligent farmer to adapt 
the composition of a fertilizer to the special soil require- 
ments of his land and to the wants of the crop to be grown. 
And, lastly, home mixtures have, as a rule, proved to be 
much cheaper than ready-made fertilizers. However, the 
economy of home-mixing should in every instance be deter- 
mined by actual calculation. 

Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, as we have 
already seen, are necessary for the complete development 
of farm crops, and are the constituents most likely to be defi- 
cient in cultivated soils; different crops have different capac- 
ities for consuming these plant foods, so that when no 
increase in crop production follows a rational application 
of one, two, or all three of these constituents the soil evidently 
contains them in sufficient stores to develop crops to limita- 
tions fixed by season and existing climatic conditions. By 
a careful study of the capacities of different crops for using 
Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, we may, within rea- 
sonable limits, approximate the quantities, which, under 
average conditions of crop, soil, and season, should be 



restored to the land to balance the consumption of growing; ^°°*^ ^°^ 
crops. 

Tables exhibiting the average amounts of Nitrogen, phos- '^^ 
phoric acid, and potash found profitable for different crops 
are given on pages 163, 164, 172. 

In using complete fertilizers, or in special crop feeding, 
it should be borne in mind that lands in a high state of 
cultivation generally respond to heavy fertilization with 
much greater immediate profit than those of ordinary 
fertility. 



Home-Mixing. 

The following formulas, together with the analyses and 
valuations, are taken from the Twelfth Annual Report of the 
New Jersey State Agricultural Experiment Station for 1891. 

They prove most conclusively that farmers can make 
even mixtures of raw materials which in mechanical condi- 
tion compare favorably with the best manufactured brands 
of complete fertilizers, and that the cost of mixing by the 
manufacturers may be saved without increasing the cost of 
farm labor. 

The results also show that in this particular instance 
there was a total difference of thirty-one per cent, in cost 
in favor of home-made mixtures. 

"In making these mixtures two important points were 
taken into consideration. First, that the value of a complete 
fertilizer depends upon the kind and quality of the essential 
ingredients. Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash con- 
tained in it; and second, that the higher the grade of the 
materials used in making the mixture the less will be the 
expenses of freight and handling per pound of essential 
ingredients. 

"High grade materials were used in the preparation of 
all of these mixtures, and the different combinations were, 
as a rule, adopted after a careful study of the plant-food 
requirements of the soil for different crops. 

"Chemical analyses were made of all the materials used 
in the mixtures: 



Food for Formulas. 

^^^°^^ For General Crops: 

172 Nitrate of Soda 200 lbs. 

Dried blood 200 

Ground bone 400 

Superphosphate 1,000 

Sulphate of potash 200 

2,000 lbs. 
For Potatoes: I. 

Nitrate of Soda 100 lbs. 

Dried blood 200 

Ground fish 200 " 

Ground bone 400 

Superphosphate 800 

High-grade sulphate of potash 300 " 

2,000 lbs. 
II. 

Nitrate of Soda 250 lbs. 

Tankage 500 

Bone-black superphosphate 800 

High-grade sulphate of potash 450 

2,000 lbs. 
III. 

Nitrate of Soda 250 lbs. 

Sulphate of ammonia 400 

Bone-black superphosphate 800 

Double sulphate of potash and magnesia 675 

Land plaster 500 

2,625 lbs. 
For Peach Trees: 

Nitrate of Soda 300 lbs. 

Dissolved bone 400 

South Carolina rock superphosphate 700 

Muriate of potash 600 

2,000 lbs. 

"The mechanical condition of these mixtures was all that 
could be desired; they were fine, dry, and in every respect 
equal to the best brands of mixed fertilizers on the market in 
the State." 

What Was Shown by the Analyses. 

"The main objects of the analyses were to determine, 
first, whether farmers using the ordinary tools and labor of 
the farm could make even mixtures of the materials used, 
and, second, whether in the cost of actual plant food home 



173 



mixing presented any advantages over the usual method of Food for 

buying manufactured fertiHzers. ^° ^ 

"In the following table the actual composition of the 
different mixtures is compared with the calculated composi- 
tion of a perfect mixture in each case, the analyses of the raw 
materials and the weights used in the formulas serving as a 
basis for the calculation. The estimated commercial value 
of the mixture is also compared with the estimated value 
of an even mixture of the materials used. 



Table of Analyses and Guarantees. 



Id 
n 

P 



< 


Total 

NlTROGKN. 


Total Phos- 
phoric Acid. 


Potash. 


Valuation 

AT Station's 

Price. 


•d 
u 

« 

2 

3 



"2 
3 



u 

V 

u 

5 


•6 

V 

a 

u 

2 



•c 




V 



to 

5 


"6 
u 

c 

a! 

2 

6 


•a 

c 
3 



li 



V 

5 




a 


3960 
4002 
3986 
3978 
4246 


4.01 
4.43 
512 
355 
459 


4.01 
4.21 

4.92 
387 
452 


— 22 

—0 20 

+0..^2 
— 07 


J3-34 
10.69 
7 00 
950 
4.73 


1369 

II.4,S 
7.20 
9-57 
504 


+0.3S 
+076 
+0.20 
+0.07 
+0.31 


5-43 
7.65 
11.16 
11.25 
6.86 


5-40 
696 
11.29 
11.79 
7.22 


—003 
— 0.69 

+0 13 
+0.54 
+0.36 


$3570 
3392 
4003 

39- '9 
32.49 


$3634 
37- «o 
40.16 
3618 
30.92 



"The plus, +, and minus, — , signs in the difference 
column, indicate the percentage more or less found by 
analyses than was guaranteed. 

"There is a very close agreement between the calculated 
and actual composition of these mixtures; the widest varia- 
tion is 0.32 per cent, for Nitrogen, 0.76 per cent, for phosphoric 
acid, and 0.69 per cent, for potash. In home-made mixtures 
the value of exactness in composition depends very largely 
upon the value of the relative proportions of the plant food 
applied to the soil for the different crops. A pound per 
acre, more or less, of either Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or 
potash would probably not be observed in the results secured 
from their use. Taking the widest variation in the above 
mixture it would require 313 pounds to make a difference 
of one pound in the Nitrogen, 133 pounds in the phosphoric 
acid, and 145 pounds in the potash. The mixtures do con- 
tain practically the amount and proportion of plant food that 
they were intended to furnish, and, therejore, show that 
farmers are able to make even mixtures of such raw materials 
as the market affords. 



Food for 
Plants 

174 



"A comparison of the commercial value per ton of the 
materials used with that of an actual mixture also confirms 
the results of analyses, the average difference between the 
two values being but thirteen cents per ton. This is a severe 
test, since in three cases out of the five the three forms of the 
expensive element Nitrogen were used, each of which has a 
different commercial value, and also because in three mix- 
tures o-round bone or tankao;e was used, materials which in 
themselves are valued in a different manner than when they 
are used in a mixed fertilizer. 



Valuation. 

" In Nos. 3960 and 4002 the cost of raw materials included 
freight charges to point of consumption; in the others the 
average cost of freight was ^i.oo per ton. The cost of mix- 
ing was variously estimated, ranging from 50 cents to $1.50 
per ton. In the table showing cost and value of the mixtures 
j^i.oo per ton has been assumed as the average cost of 
mixing:. 



Station Number. 

Cost per ton 

Freight and mixing. . 
Total cost per ton. . . 

Station's value 

Value exceeds cost. . 



3960 


4002 


3986 


397S 


4246 


$29.06 


$30 . 60 


$36.76 


$33.00 


^27.74 


1 .00 


1 .00 


2.00 


2.00 


2.00 


30.06 


31.60 


38.76 


35.00 


29.74 


.55 -70 


33-92 


40.03 


39-19 


32-49 


5.64 


2.32 


1.27 


4.19 


2-75 



,30.10 

2.00 
32. 10 

33-45 
1-35 



"The average value per ton of these mixtures is $2.92, 
or 8.9 per cent, greater than their cost at point of consump- 
tion. This sum, while worthy of careful consideration by 
the farmers, by no means represents the actual saving in the 
cost of plant food that this method of buying offers over the 
usual haphazard method of buying on credit from small 
dealers and without regard to the source of materials used 
or reliability of the manufacturer. The following results 
shown by study of the analyses of complete fertilizers, made 
in 1890, clearly illustrate this point, viz., that the value per 
ton of the average of over 200 brands of complete fertilizers 
was ;$28.37 and the average selling price ^34.64, a difference 
of $6.27 per ton, or a cost of 22.1 per cent, greater than the 
value; this added to the 8.9 per cent, would make a total 



difference in favor of home mixtures of 31 per cent.; in other ^°°^ ^°^ 

words, an amount of plant food in a mixture that would cost ^" ^ 

on the average $100 when bought in the form of raw materials ^75 
and mixed at home would, on the average, cost $1^1 when 
bought in the usual manner in the form of manufactured brands. 

"The best forms of fertihzing materials are used in the 
preparation of these formulas, as they will probably be found 
to be the cheapest in the majority of cases. These are, as a 
rule, in good mechanical condition, and can be bought direct 
from the leading dealers or manufacturers, and should in all 
cases be accompanied by a guaranteed composition. It is 
important that the materials should be evenly mixed. This 
can be easily done by forming on the barn floor or other dry 
and level place, a series of layers of the different materials, 
arid working the heap over from the edge outward, breaking 
all the lumps in the process; a few turnings will suffice to 
answer the purpose. Screening is also advisable if suitable 
apparatus is at hand. It is not claimed that the buying of 
raw materials and mixing at home is the best and cheapest 
method of getting fertilizers under all conditions; however, 
the important points in favor of the system will bear repeat- 
ing, viz.: 

"i. That a definite knowledge of the quality of the 
materials is secured; and 

"2. That where farmers know what they want, and unite 
in purchasing car lots, there is a decided saving in the cost 
of plant food." 

The elaborate investigations of the New Jersey Experi- 
ment Station plainly indicate that there is a decided saving 
in the cost of plant food by buying the unmixed raw materials 
and mixing them at home. 

Farmers and farmers' clubs should give the method a 
practical trial. They will have the ready co-operation of 
their State experiment stations in so far as it may be neces- 
sary to test by analyses the materials to be used. 

A matter of paramount importance in purchasing raw 
materials for home mixture is to take advantage of market 
fluctuations in laying in a season's supply. Marked variations 
in cost occur, and a saving of from 10 to 20 per cent, is often 
the result of buying early in the year before the spring work 
has fully begun, and there is no better time for mixing than 
during the idle winter months. 



176 



Two Good Home Mixtures. 

I. Mixture for General Use. (Connecticut Experiment Station.) 

Dissolved bone-black 834 lbs. 

Tankage 666 " 

Sulphate of ammonia 208 " 

Muriate of potash 292 " 

2,000 lbs. 

II. Mixture for General Use. (Connecticut Experiment Station.) 

Tankage 450 lbs. 

Sulphate of ammonia 170 " 

Dissolved bone-black 1,000 " 

Muriate of potash 280 " 

Bone (meal) 100 " 

2,000 lbs. 

"The actual cost in many, if not all, of these cases has 
been very considerably reduced by special rates which are 
given w^here a number of farmers give a cash order for a car 
lot or more. 

"The average cost of materials in these home-mixed 
fertilizers has been thirty-four dollars and twenty-three cents 
per ton delivered at the purchaser's freight station. Two 
dollars will fully cover the cost of screening and mixing. 
(From a dollar to a dollarand a half is the estimate of those 
who have done the work.) The average valuation has been 
thirty-four dollars and eighty-five cents per ton. On the 
basis of these figures the average difference between cost and 
valuation has been less than six per cent. In factory-mixed 
goods it has averaged in round numbers eighteen per cent. 

"There is no longer any question as to the expediency of 
home-mixing in many cases. From such raw materials as 
are in our markets, without the aid of milling machinery, 
mixtures can be and are annually made on the farm which 
are uniform in quality, fine and dry, and equal in all respects 
to the best ready made fertilizers." 



Amounts of Manure Produced by Farm Animals. 

From Bulletin 27, Cornell University Agricultural 
Experiment Station. 

In the experiment with cows, eighteen 

Jersey and Holstein grades in milk were 

kept in their places during the whole twenty-four hours» 



and the manure carefully collected as it was excreted, and a ^^o^ ^°' 
sufficient quantity of bedding and absorbents of known com- ^°^^ 
position and weight were used to make the collection complete. ^77 

The cows consumed 114 pounds of hay, 893 pounds of 
ensilage, 186 pounds of beets, and 154 pounds of a mixture 
of 12 parts wheat bran, 9 parts cotton-seed meal, 3 parts 
corn meal, and i part malt sprouts. The other details of 
the experiment are shown in the table: 



Weight of cows, pounds. . 
Food consumed, pounds. 
Water drunk, pounds. . . , 
Total excretion, pounds. 

Nitrogen, pounds 

Phosphoric acid, pounds. 

Potash, pounds 

Value of Nitrogen 

Value of phosphoric acid. 

Value of potash 

Total value 



Eighteen 

Cows for 

One Day. 



20,380 

1,347 
876 

1,452 

7 
5 

7 



•5 

•35 

.01 

.40 
.10 

•35 
•33 
•78 



Average 
Per Cow 
Per Day. 



1,132 

75 
49 
81 



•41 
.28 

• 41 

;?o.o6 
.02 
.02 
.10 



51 per cent. 
35 " 
51 " 

46 



Composition of the mixed excrement: 

Nitrogen 

Phosphoric acid : 

Potash 

Value per ton 

A few days later a second trial was made with four of the 
same cows and the solid and liquid excrement carefully 
collected and analyzed separately. The conditions of food 
water, etc., were almost identical. ^. ^ ^ . , _ , ^ . , 

hirst 1 rial. Second Trial. 

Average weight 1,132 i>i78 

Average food eaten 75 76 

Average water drunk 49 40 

Average total excrement voided 81 82 

The four animals yielded in twenty-four hours 255 pounds 
of solid and 72.25 pounds of liquid excrement, which had 

the following composition: Solid, Liquid, Mixed, 

Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 

Nitrogen 26 1.32 .49 

Phosphoric acid 28 .... .22 

Potash 20 1 . 00 .38 

Value per ton ;^2.o8 



Food for The average of the two trials shows that well-fed cows, 

^"*^ yielding milk heavily, may be counted upon to return nearly 

178 ten cents' worth of valuable fertilizing materials per day, 

and the last trial shows that the liquid excrement is of 

equal value with the solid. 

_ The determination of the amount of excre- 

ment was made by carefully collecting the 
manure made by the ten horses in the University barn during 
the time they were in the stable, for a period of eleven days, 
including one Sunday. During this time the bedding used 
was also weighed and separately analyzed. The horses were 
mostly grade draft horses of about 1,400 pounds weight, 
doing heavy work and liberally fed on oats and hay. Dur- 
ing the eleven days of the experiment 3,461 pounds of clear 
excrement of the following percentage composition was 
voided: 

Nitrogen 47 per cent. 

Phosphoric acid 39 " 

Potash 94 " 

Value per ton ,^2 . 79 

The amount and value of the fertilizing materials would, 

therefore, be : 10 Horses for Average per 

Jl Days. Horse per Day. 

Nitrogen, pounds 16.27 -^5 

Phosphoric acid, pounds 13.50 .12 

Potash, pounds 32-53 30 

Nitrogen, value $2 . 44 $0.02 

Phosphoric acid, value 81 .01 

Potash, value i .46 .01 



Total ^4 . 7 1 . 043 

The horses, therefore, returned in the manure during the 
time that they were in the stable rather more than four cents 
each per day, in about thirty-two pounds of excrement. 
_, For this trial, tight galvanized iron pans, 

covering the whole surface of the pen, were 
used; the sheep were kept continuously upon them, and 
enough weighed straw bedding of known composition was 
used to keep them dry and clean. The sheep were grade 
Shropshires, of medium size, and were fed on grain, beets, 
and hay. The experiment lasted for thirty-three and two- 
thirds days with three sheep, during which time 923 pounds 



of clear excrement of the following percentage composition ^oo<i ^o'" 

I ^ • J Plants 
were obtamed: 



Nitrogen i . oo per cent. 

Phosphoric acid 08 

Potash 1 . 2 1 

Value per ton $4.19 

The other details of the experiment were as follows: 

3 Sheep for Average per 
3373 Days. Sheep per Day. 

Weight of sheep 426 142 

Food consumed 536 5.3 

Water drunk 765 7 . 5 

Total excrement 7^3 7 • ^ 

Nitrogen, pounds 7.21 . 07 1 

Phosphoric acid, pounds .60 .005 

Potash, pounds 8.74 .086 

Nitrogen, value $1 .08 ;^o.oi 

Phosphoric acid, value .04 .0004 

Potash .39 . 004 



179 



Total value $1 .51 ;^o.oi5 

The most striking thing in regard to the sheep manure 

is the extremely low percentage of phosphoric acid. It will 

be noted that we obtained, in valuable fertilizing materials, 

about one and one-half cents' worth per sheep per day. 

The determinations of the amount of „ . 

J J , • J . Swme. 

manure produced by swme were made m 

the same general way as the sheep, i.e., by keeping the swine 

continuously upon tight galvanized iron pans and weighing 

and analyzing the bedding separately. Two determinations 

were made with two lots of swine fed on different rations; 

one lot, known as the carbonaceous lot, was fed nothing but 

corn meal; the other lot, known as the nitrogenous lot, was 

fed a ration of two parts corn meal and one part flesh meal. 

It will be noted that the excrement differed very materially 

both in amount and quality, as is shown by the following 

analysis: 

Nitrogenous, Carbonaceous, Average, 
Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. 

Nitrogen 92 .74 .83 

Phosphoric acid 06 .01 .04 

Potash 64 .58 .61 

Value per ton i?3-4i 1^2.94 1^3.18 



Food for 
Plants 

i8^ 



Other Details of the Experiment. 





Nitrogen- 
ous. 


Carbona- 
ceous. 


Average. 




Four Pigs 

in 

Seven Days. 

600. 
122. 
146. 

1-34 
.09 

•93 

;^o.2o 
.006 
.04 
•25 


Four Pigs 

in 

Seven Days. 

426. 

78. 

48. 
.36 
.007 
.28 

i$o.o5 
.005 
.01 
.07 


Four Pigs 

in 

Seven Days. 


Per Pig 
Per Day.. 


Weip'ht of swine 


128. 


o 

Food consumed 

Total excrement 

Nitrogen 


100 

97 
$0 


85 
05 
61 

13 

005 

03 
t6 


3-6 

3-5 

■03 
.002 
.02 
;^o.oo5 

.001 
.006 


Phosphoric acid, pounds. . . 

Potash, pounds 

Nitrogen, value 

Phosphoric acid, value 

Potash, value 

Total value 













Value 
Per Ton. • 


Value Per 

Animal 

Per Day. 


Value Per 

Thousand 

Pounds 

Live 
Weight 
Per Day. 


Value Per 
Thousand 

Pounds 
Live 

Weight 
Per Year. 


Horse* 


;^2.79 

2.27 
4.19 

3-i8 


$0 . 044 
•073 
•093 
.015 
.006 


;?o.o3i 
.052 
.082 
.106 
.047 


;^ii.47 
19.12 
29.82 

38.55 
17. II 


Horsef 

Cows 

Sheep 

Swine 





Analyses of Commercial Fertilizing Materials. 



Name of Substance. 


9 
3 

'0 


c 

1 


rt 

Pi 


Phosphoric Acid. 


Avail- 
able. 


Insolu- 
ble. 


Total. 


/. Phosphatic Manures. 
Apatite 








16.70 


0.30 


36.08 

35 89 
28.28 
17.00 


Bone ash 

Bone-black 

Bone-black (dissolved) 


7.00 
4.60 
.... 



* Manure voided while at work not included. 

t Total excrement calculated on the basis that three-fifths was collected in the stable. 



Analyses of Commercial Fertilizing Materials. 

Continued. 



Food for 
Plants 



Name of Substance. 



/. Phosphatic Manures. — 
Continued. 

Bone meal 

Bone meal (free from fat) 

Bone meal (from glue factory) . 

Bone meal (dissolved) 

Caribbean guano 

Cuban guano 

Mona Island guano 

Navassa phosphate 

Orchilla guano 

Peruvian guano 

S. Carolina rock (ground) 

S. Carolina rock (floats) 

S. Carolina rock (dissolved). . . 

//. Potash Manures. 

Carnallite 

Cotton-seed hull ashes 

Kainit 

Krugite 

Muriate of potash 

Nitrate of potash 

Spent tan-bark ashes 

Sulph. potash (high grade). . . . 
Sulph. potash and magnesia. . . 

Sylvinite 

Waste from gunpowder w^orks. 

Wood-ashes (unleached) 

Wood-ashes (leached) 



///. Nitrogenous Manures. 

Ammoniate 

Castro pomace 

Cotton-seed meal 

Dried blood 

Dried fish 

Horn and hoof waste 

Lobster shells 

Meat scrap 



7-47 



24.27 

12.52 

7.60 

7-31 
14.81 

1.50 



7-33 
3.20 
4.82 
2.00 

1-93 
6.31 
1.25 

4-75 
7.25 

2-75 
12.00 



4.12 
20 



13 



85 



09 



43 



61 



13.68 
23.80 

13-54 

8.42 

52.46 

45- 19 

2.04 
38.60 
23.50 
16.65 
18.00 

5-50 
1 . 10 



Phosphoric Acid. 



Avail- 
able. 



28 



^iSi 



55 



05 



Insolu- 
ble. 



15 



14 

6 

27 



Zi 



90 
43 

60 



Total. 



23.50 
20. 10 
29.90 
17.60 
18.90 
13-35 

21.88 

34-27 
26.77 
15.26 
28.03 
27.20 
15.20 



50 



61 



Food for 
Plants 

182 



Analyses of Commercial Fertilizing Materials. 

Continued. 



Name of Substance. 



///. Nitrogenous Manures.- 

Conttnued. 
Malt sprouts 

Nitrate of Soda 

Nitre-cake 

Oleomargarine refuse 

Sulphate of ammonia , 

Tankage 

Tobacco stems 

Wool waste 



IV. Miscellaneous Materials. 

Ashes (anthracite coal) 

Ashes (bituminous coal). . . . 

Ashes (corn-cob) 

Ashes (lime-kiln) 

Ashes (peat and bog) 

Gas lime 

Marls (Maryland) 

Marls (Massachusetts) 

Marls (North Carolina).. .. 

Marls (Virginia) 

Muck (fresh) 

Muck (air-dry) 

Mud (fresh water) 

Mud (from sea-meadows). . . 

Peat.. 

Pine straw (dead leaves or pine 

needles) 

Shells (mollusks) 

Shells (crustacea) 

Shell lime (oyster shell) 

Soot 

Spent tan 

Spent sumach 

Sugar-house scum 

Turf 



7.40 

125 

6.00 
8.54 
1 .00 
13.20 
10.61 
9.27 



15-45 
5.20 
4.40 

1-73 
18.18 

1.50 
15.98 
76.20 
21 .40 

40.37 
53-5° 
61 .50 



19.50 

5-54 
14.00 
30.80 
50.20 
19.29 



4.04 

15-75 
2.30 
12.12 
20.50 
6.82 
2.29 
5-64 



0.30 



0.30 
1.30 

1-37 
0.20 
0.75 

0.30 
o. 10 
6.20 



0.20 
1 .00 
2.10 
1.94 



40 



O. 10 

0.40 
53.20 
0.86 
0.70 

1.25 

0.04 
0.49 



0.22 
0.20 



O.IO 

0.04 

0.20 
0.04 

1-83 
0. 10 

0.30 



Phosphoric Acid. 



Avail- 
able. 



Insolu- 
ble. 



23 



Total. 



o. 10 
0.40 

1. 18 

0.50 

0.38 
1.05 
0.56 
0.09 



0.26 

O. 10 



0.20 
0.03 
2.30 
0.20 

0.04 
O. 10 



Pure Dry (N H^ ), S O^ has 21.21 N— 25.76 N H3. 
Pure Dry Na N O3 has 16.47 N — 20.00 N H3. 



Analyses of Farm Manures. 

Taken Chiefly from Reports of the New York, Massachusetts and 
Connecticut Experiment Stations. 



Food for 
Plants 

1S3 



Name of Substance. 



Cattle (solid fresh excrement). 

Cattle (fresh urine) 

Hen manure (fresh) 

Horse (solid fresh excrement). . 

Horse (fresh urine) 

Human excrement (solid) 

Human urine 

Poudrette (night soil) 

Sheep (solid fresh excrement).. 

Sheep (fresh urine) 

Stable manure (mixed) 

Swine (solid fresh excrement).. 
Swine (fresh urine) 



Moisture. 



11 



27 



Nitrogen. 



0.29 
0.58 
1.63 
0.44 

1-55 
1 .00 

0.60 
0.80 

0-55 
1.95 
0.50 
0.60 
0-43 



Potash. 



0. 10 

0.49 
0.85 

^•35 
1.50 
0.25 
0.20 
0.30 
0.15 
2.26 
0.60 
o. 13 
0.83 



Phosphoric 
Acid. 



o. 17 

1-54 
o. 17 

1 .09 
o. 17 
1 .40 
0.31 

O.OI 

0.30 

0.41 
0.07 



Analyses of Fertilizing Materials in Farm Products. 

Analyses of Hay and Dry Coarse Fodders. 



Name of Substance. 



//. Hay and Dry Coarse Fodders 

Blue melilot 

Buttercups 

Carrot tops (dry) 

Clover (alsike) 

Clover (Bokhara) 

Clover (mammoth red) 

Clover (medium red) 

Clover (white) 

Corn fodder 

Corn stover 

Cow-pea vines 

Daisy (white) 

Daisy (ox-eye) 

Hungarian grass 

Italian rye-grass 

June grass 

Lucern (alfalfa) 



Moisture. 


Nitrogen. 


Potash. 


Phosphoric 
Acid. 


8.22 


1.92 


2.80 


0.54 






X .02 


0.81 


0.41 


9 


76 


313 


4.88 


0.61 


9 


93 


2-33 


2.01 


0.70 


6 


36 


1.77 


1.67 


0.44 


II 


41 


2.23 


I .22 


0-55 


10 


72 


2.09 


2.20 


0.44 




• • 


2-75 


I. 81 


0.52 






1.80 


0.76 


0.51 


28 


24 


1 .12 


1.32 


0.30 


9 


00 


1 .64 


0.91 


0-53 


9 


65. 


0.28 


1.25 


0.44 ■ 






0.80 


2.23 


0.27 


7 


15 


1. 16 


1.28 


0-35 , 


8 


29 


115 


0.99 


0-55 






1.05 1 


I .46 


0-37 


6. 


26 


2.07 1 


I .46 


0-53 



Food for 
Plants 

184 



Analyses of Fertilizing Materials in Farm Products. 

Continued. 



Name of Substance. 



//. Hay and Dry Coarse 

Fodders — Conti nued 

Meadow fescue 

Meadow foxtail 

Mixed grasses 

Orchard grass 

Perennial rye-grass 

Red-top 

Rowen 

Salt hay 

Serradella 

Soja bean 

Tall meadow oat 

Timothy hay 

Vetch and oats 

Yellow trefoil 

///. Green Fodders. 

Buckwheat 

Clover (red) 

Clover (white) 

Corn fodder 

Corn fodder (ensilage) 

Cow-pea vines 

Horse bean 

Lucern (alfalfa) 

Meadow grass (in flower). ... 

Millet 

Oats (green) 

Peas 

Prickly comfrey 

Rye grass 

Serradella 

Sorghum 

Spanish moss 

Vetch and oats 

White lupine 

Young grass 

IV. Straw, Chaff, Leaves, etc. 

Barley chaff 

Barely straw , 

Bean shells 



Moisture. 



79 

26 

84 

13 

71 
48 

36 
39 
30 



82.60 
80.00 
81 .00 
72.64 
71 .60 
78.81 
74-71 

75-3° 
70.00 
62.58 

83-36 
81.50 

70.00 
82.59 

60.80 
86.11 

85-35 
80.00 



13.08 

13-25 
18.50 



Nitrogen, 



0.94 
1-54 
1-37 
1-31 
1.23 

1. 15 

1-75 
1. 18 
2.70 
2.32 

1. 16 
1.26 

1-37 
2.14 



0.51 

0-53 
0.56 
0.56 
0.36 
0.27 
0.68 
0.72 
0.44 
0.61 
0.49 
0.50 
0.42 
0.57 
0.41 
0.40 
0.28 
0.24 
0.44 
0.50 



1 .01 
0.72 
1.48 



Potash, 



2.01 
2. 19 

1-54 
1.88 

1-55 

1 .02 
1.97 
0.72 
0.65 
1.08 
1 .72 

1-53 
0.90 
0.98 



0-43 
0.46 
0.24 
0.62 

0-33 
0.31 

^■37 
0.45 
0.60 
0.41 
0.38 
0.56 
0.75 

°-53 
0.42 
0.32 
0.26 
0.79 

^■73 
1. 16 



0.99 
1. 16 
I 38 



Phosphoric 
Acid. 



0.34 
0.44 

0-35 
0.41 
0.56 
0.36 
0.46 
0.25 
0.78 
0.67 
0.32 
0.46 
0-53 
043 



O. II 

0.13 
0.20 
0.28 
0.14 
0.98 

0-33 
0.15 
0.15 
o. 19 
o. 13 

0.18 

O. II 

17 
14 
08 

30 
09 

35 



0.22 



0.27 
0.15 
0.55 



Analyses of Fertilizing Materials in Farm Products. 

Continued. 



Food for 
Plants 

185 



Name of Substance. 

IV. Straw, Chaff, Leaves, etc. 
Continued. 

Beech leaves (autumn) 

Buckwheat straw 

Cabbage leaves (air-dried) 

Cabbage stalks (air-dried) 

Carrots (stalks and leaves) 

Corn cobs 

Corn hulls.- 

Hops 

Oak leaves 

Oat chafF 

Oat straw 

Pea shells 

Pea straw (cut in bloom) 

Pea straw (ripe) 

Potato stalks and leaves 

Rye straw 

Sugar-beet stalks and leaves. . . . 

Turnip stalks and leaves 

Wheat chaff (spring) 

Wheat chaff (winter) 

Wheat straw (spring) 

Wheat straw (winter) 

F. Roots, Tubers, etc. 

Beets (red) 

Beets (sugar) 

Beets (yellow fodder) 

Carrots 

Mangolds 

Potatoes 

Ruta bagas 

Turnips 

yi. Grains and Seeds. 

Barley 

Beans 

Buckwheat 

Corn kernels 

Corn kernels and cobs (cob meal) 

Hemp seed 

Linseed 

Lupines 



Moisture. 



15.00 
16.00 
14.60 
16.80 
80.80 
12.09 
11.50 
11.07 
15.00 

14-30 
28.70 
16.65 



77.00 
15.40 
92.65 
89.80 
14.80 
10.56 
15.00 
10.36 



87-73 
84.65 
90.60 
90.02 
87.29 

79-75 
87.82 
87.20 



15.42 

14. 10 
10.88 
10.00 
12.20 
11.80 
13.80 



N rogen. 



0.80 
1.30 
0.24 
18 

51 
50 
23 

53 
80 
0.64 
0.29 
1.36 
2.29 
1 .04 
0.49 
0.24 

0-35 
0.30 
0.91 
1 .01 
0.54 
0.82 



0.24 
0.25 
0.19 
0.14 
0.19 
0.21 
0.21 
0.22 



2.06 
4. 10 
1.44 
1.82 
1 .46 
2.62 
3.20 
5-52 



Potash. 



0.30 
2.41 
I. 71 
3-49 
0-37 
0.60 
0.24 
1.99 
0.15 
1 .04 
0.88 

1-38 
2.32 
1 .01 

0.07 
0.76 
0.16 
0.24 
0.42 
o. 14 
0.44 
0.32 



0.44 
0.29 
0.46 
0.54 
0.38 
0.29 
0.50 
0.41 



0-73 
1 .20 
0.21 
0.40 
0.44 
0.97 
1 .04 
1. 14 



Phosphoric 
Acid. 



0.24 
0.61 
0.75 
1 .06 
0.21 
0.06 
0.02 

1-75 

0.34 

0.20 
O. II 

0.55 
0.68 

0-35 
0.06 
0.19 
0.07 
0.13 
0.25 
0.19 
0.18 

O.II 



0.09 
0.08 
0.09 

O. 10 

0.09 
0.07 

0-13 

O. 12 



0.95 
I. 16 
0.44 
0.70 
0.60 

1-75 
1 .30 
0.87 



Food for 
Plants 

i86 



Analyses of Fertilizing Materials in Farm Products. 

Continued. 



Name of Substance. 

VI. Grains and Seeds. — 

Continued. 

Millet 

Oats 

Peas 

Rye 

Soja beans 

Sorghum 

Wheat (spring) 

Wheat (winter) 

VII. Flour and Meal. 

Corn meal 

Ground barley 

Hominy feed 

Pea meal 

Rye flour 

Wheat flour 

VIII. By-products and Refuse. . 

Apple pomace 

Cotton hulls 

Cotton-seed meal 

Glucose refuse 

Gluten meal 

Hop refuse 

Linseed cake (new process). . . . 

Linseed cake (old process) 

Malt sprouts 

Oat bran 

Rye middlings 

Spent brewer's grains (dry). . . . 
Spent brewer's grains (wet). . . . 

Wheat bran 

Wheat middlings 

IX. Dairy Products. 

Milk 

Cream 

Skim-milk 

Butter 

Butter-milk 

Cheese (from unskimmed milk). 
Cheese(from half-skimmed milk) 
Cheese (from skimmed milk).. . 



Moisture 



Nitrogen. Potash. 



13.00 
20.80 
19. 10 

14.90 

18.83 

14.00 

H-75 
15.40 



13 


52 


13 


43 


8 


93 


8 


85 


14 


20 


9 


83 



80.50 

10.63 

8.10 

8.53 
8.98 
6. 12 

7-79 
10.28 

8.19 
12.54 

6.98 
75.01 
1 1 .01 

9.18 



87.20 
68.80 
90.20 
13.60 
90. 10 
38.00 
39.80 
46.00 



2.40 

1-75 
4.26 
1.76 

5-30 
1.48 
2.36 
2.83 



2.05 

1-55 
1 .63 
3.08 
1.68 
2.21 



0.23 
0.75 
6.52 
2.62 

5-43 
0.98 
5.40 
6.02 

2.25 
1.84 

3-05 
0.89 
2.88 
2.63 






58 





58 





58 





12 





64 


4 


05 


4 


75 


5 


45 



0.47 

0.41 

1.23 
0.54 
1.99 

0.42 
0.61 

0.50 



0.44 

0-34 
0.49 
0.99 
0.65 
0.54 



0.13 
1.08 
1.89 
0.15 
0.05 

O.II 

1. 16 
1. 16 
1 .60 
0.66 
0.81 

1-55 
0.05 
1 .62 
0.63 



•17 
.09 

.19 

,09 
29 
29 



Phosphoric 
Acid. 



0.91 
0.48 
1 .26 
0.82 
1.87 
0.81 
0.89 
0.68 



0.71 
0.66 
0.98 
0.82 
0.85 
0-57 

0.02 
0.18 
2.78 
0.29 
0.43 
0.20 
1.42 
1.65 
1 .40 
I . II 
1 .26 
1 .26 
0.31 
2.87 
0.95 

0.30 
0.15 
0-34 

0.15 
0.80 
0.80 
0.80 



Analyses of Fertilizing Materials in Farm Products. 

Continued. 



Name of Substance. 

X. Flesh of Farm Animals 

Beef 

Calf (whole animal) 

Ox 

Pig 

Sheep 

XI. Garden Products. 

Asparagus 

Cabbage 

Cucumbers 

Lettuce 

Onions 



Moisture. ' Nitrogen. 



Potash. 



77.00 
.20 



70 



3.60 
2.50 
2.66 
2.00 
2.24 

0.32 
0.30 
0.16 
0.20 
0.27 



Phosphoric 
Acid. 



Food for 
Plants 

1 87 



0.52 
0.24 
0.17 
0.90 
0.15 

o. 12 

0-43 
0.24 
0.25 
0.25 



0.43 
I 38 
1.86 
0.44 
1.23 

0.09 

O.II 
O. 12 
O.II 

0.13 



Table Showing the Number of Pounds of Nitrogen, Phos- 
phoric Acid, and Potash Withdrawn Per 
Acre by an Average Crop. 

(From New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Experiment 
Stations' Reports.) 



Name of Crop. 



Barley 

Buckwheat 

Cabbage (white) 

Cauliflower 

Cattle turnips 

Carrots 

Clover, green (trifolium pratense). . . . 

Clover (trifolium pratense) 

Clover, scarlet (trifolium incarnatum). 

Clover (trifolium repens) 

Cow pea 

Corn •. . . . 

Corn fodder (green) 

Cotton 

Cucumbers 

Esparsette 

Hops 

Hemp 

Lettuce 

Lucern 

Lupine, green (for fodder) 

Lupine, yellow (lupinus luteus) 

Meadow hay 



Nitrogen 



Potash. 




Food for Table Showing the Number of Pounds of Nitrogen, Phos- 
^^^°*^ phoric Acid, and Potash Withdrawn Per Acre 



188 



by an Average Crop. 

Continued. 



Name of Crop. 



Oats 

Onions 

Peas (pisuni sativum) 

Poppy 

Potatoes 

Rape 

Rice 

Rye 

Seradella 

Soja bean 

Sugar cane 

Sorghum (sorghum saccharatum) 

Sugar beet (beet-root) 

Tobacco 

Vetch (visia sativa) 

Wheat 



Nitrogen. 


Phosphoric 
Acid. 


Potash. 


89 


35 


96 


96 


49 


96 


153 


39 


69 


87 


30 


87 


119 


55 


192 


154 


79 


124 


39 


24 


45 


87 


44 


76 


128 


57 


196 


297 


62 


87 


518 


37 


107 


446 


90 


561 


95 


44 


200 


127 


32 


148 


149 


35 


113 


III 


45 


58 



Fertilizer Experiments on Meadow Land. 

(Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 23, 

February, 1890.) 

On low and decidedly wet land: 

English Blue Grass. 



Fertilizers Used Per Acre. 



Sulphate of potash. . . 
Muriate of potash. . . 

Nitrate of Soda 

Sulphate of ammonia 

No fertiHzer 

Stable manure 

Tobacco stems 




Yield of 

Hay in 

Pounds 

Per Acre. 



3,000 
2,950 
3,100 
3,600 
2,850 
2,970 
4,700 



Fertilizer Experiments on Meadow Land. — Continued. 

Timothy. 



Kind of Fertilizer Used. 



Sulphate of potash. . . 
Muriate of potash . . . 

Nitrate of Soda 

Sulphate of ammonia 

No fertilizer 

Stable manure 

Tobacco stems 



Amount 

Per Acre 

in Pounds. 



1 60 

160 
160 
130 

20 loads. 
4,000 



Yield of 

Hay in 

Pounds 

Per Acre. 



Food for 
Plants 

189 



1,900 
2,320 
2,670 
2,520 
1,620 
2,200 
3»35o 



/ 


2 


3 


4- 


5 


6 


7 


80 


65 


SS 


45 


35 


25 


20 


60 


30 


20 


10 


00 


00 


00 


50 


30 


20 


10 


GO 


00 


00 



00 00 00 00 



Time Required for the Complete Exhaustion of Available 
Fertilizing Materials and the Amounts of Each Remain- 
ing in the Soil During a Period of Seven Years. 

(From Scottish Estimates.) 

ON UNCULTIVATED CLAY LOAM. 

Kind of Fertilizer. Exhausted Per cent, remaining in the soil unex- 

(in years), hausted at the end of each year. 

Lime 12 

Bone meal 5 

Phosphatic guanos 5 

Dissolved bones and plain superphos- 
phates 4 

High grade ammoniated fertilizers, 
guano, etc 3 

Cotton-seed meal 5 

Barn-yard manure 5 

ON UNCULTIVATED LIGHT 

Lime 10 

Bone meal 4 

Phosphatic guanos 4 

Dissolved bones and plain super-phos- 
phates 3 

High grade ammoniates, guanos 3 

Cotton-seed meal 4 

Barn-yard manure 4 

ON UNCULTIVATED PAS 

Lime 15 

Bone meal 7 

Phosphatic guano 6 

Dissolved bone, etc 4 

High grade ammoniated guanos 4 

Cotton-seed meal 5 

Barn-yard manure 7 



30 


20 


00 


00 


00 


00 


00 


40 


30 


20 


10 


00 


00 


00 


60 


30 


20 


10 


00 


00 


00 


OR MEDIUM SOILS. 




75 


60 


40 


30 


20 


15 




60 


30 


10 


00 


00 


00 




50 


20 


10 


00 


00 


00 




20 


10 


5 


00 


00 


00 


GO 


30 


20 


00 


00 


00 


00 


00 


40 


30 


20 


TO 


00 


00 


OG 


60 


30 


10 


00 


00 


00 


GO 


TU 


RE 


LAND. 








80 


70 


60 


50 


45 


40 


35 


bo 


50 


40 


30 


20 


10 


00 


50 


40 


30 


20 


10 


00 


80 


30 


20 


10 


00 


00 


00 


00 


30 


20 


10 


00 


00 


GO 


00 


40 


30 


20 


10 


00 


00 


00 


60 


50 


40 


30 


20 


10 


00 



Food for 
Plants 

190 



Sulphate of ammonia, Nitrate of Soda, sulphate, 
Nitrate and muriate of potash are generally held to be en- 
tirely exhausted by the crops grown the season of their 
application. 

The figures given above are always used in fixing the 
price for new tenants. In this country no such careful esti- 
mates have been made, but the proportions probably vary 
but little from those in other countries. 



Amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid, and Potash Found 

Profitable for Different Crops Under Average 

Conditions Per Acre. 

(Taken Chiefly from New Jersey Experiment Station's Reports.) 

Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid, Potash, 

Pounds. Pounds. Pounds. 

Wheat, rye, oats, corn 16 40 30 

Potatoes and root crops 20 25 40 

Clover, beans, peas and other leguminous crops. . . 40 60 

Fruit trees and small fruits 25 40 75 

General garden produce 30 40 60 



The Various Potash Salts and Their Composition. 



Kainit 

Carnallite. 
Kieserite. . 

Sylvinite. . 



Natural Products of thk 
Mines. 



If: 



B, Concentrated Products. 

a. Sulphates of Potash. 

1. Sulphate of potash, high-graded, 96% 

2. Sulphate of potash, high-graded, 90% 

3. Double sulphate of potash and sulphate of 

magnesia (double manure salt) 

4. Calcined kieserite 

b. Muriates 0/ Potash. 

) 90-95%... 
Muriate of potash >8o-S,s%... 

Calcined manure salt, high grade 

Calcined manure salt, low grade 



21-3 



7-1 
17.2 
16.3 



07.2 
90.6 



•?S 



14.5 
12. 1 
21.5 
5-8 
II. 8 
II. 8 



34.0 
65.8 



0-4 
0.8 
22.5 
31 -1 



- M r B 
o « o 5 



12.4 
21.5 

17.2 
4.0 

8.1 
9-3 



34-6 
22.4 
26.7 

46.2 
;8.2 
34-9 



7.1 
14- 5 



12.4 
10.3 



►4S 
<U 3 

cd O- 



o 3 

0.6 
15-7 

0.2 
0.2 

0-5 
5-3 
10.6 



12.7 
26.1 
20.7 
8.4 

9-7 
S.3 



0.7 
2.2 

II. 6 
II. I 

0.6 
I.I 

2..S 

.7.8 
12.6 



12.8 
9-8 
7-5 
iq.4 
16.3 
17.6 



52.7 
49-9 



27.2 



57-9 
52-7 
46.7 
28.1 
16.2 



V o 

« a 



34-9 
72-3 



30.0 
40.6 



Rotation on Crops. ^°°^ ^^^ 

Plants 



In the changed conditions of agriculture elaborate systems 
of crop rotation are no longer necessary. With the help of 
chemical manures and the judicious use of renovating crops 
farmers are no longer subject to rigid rule, but may adapt 
rotations to the varying demands of local market conditions. 



Some American Rotations. 



Potatoes. 

Wheat. 

Clover. 

Clover. 

Wheat, oats or rye. 

Roots. 
Wheat. 
Clover. 
Clover. 
Corn, oats or rye. 



I. 


Potatoes. 


2. 


Wheat. 


3- 


Grass, timothy and clover 


4- 


Grass, timothy and clover 


5- 


Corn. 


I. 


Roots. 


2. 


Wheat. 


3- 


Clover. 


4- 


Clover. 


5- 


Wheat. 


6. 


Oats. 



Of General Interest. 

How to Copyright a Book, Map, Chart, Etc. 

Every applicant for a copyright must state distinctly the name and resi- 
dence of the claimant, and whether the right is claimed as author, designer 
or proprietor. No affidavit or formal application is required. A printed 
copy of the title of the book, map, chart, dramatic or musical composition, 
engraving, cut, print, or photograph, or a description of the painting, draw- 
ing, chromo, statue, statuary, or model or design for a work of fine arts, for 
which copyright is desired, must be sent by mail or otherwise, prepaid, 
addressed "Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C." This must be done 
before publication of the book or other article. A fee of 50 cents, for record- 
ing the title of each book or other article, must be inclosed with the title as 
above, and 50 cents in addition (or one dollar in all) for each certificate of 
copyright under seal of the Librarian of Congress, which will be transmitted 
by return mail. Within ten days after publication of each book or other 
article, two complete copies must be sent prepaid, to perfect the copyright, 
with the address, "Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C." Without 
the deposit of copies above required, the copyright is void, and a penalty of 
S25 is incurred. No copyright is valid unless notice is given by inserting in 
every copy published, "Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 
, by , in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington"; 



191 



Food for or, at the option of the person entering the copyright, the words, "Copyright 

Plants ig — ^ by ." The law imposes a penalty of ^loo upon any person who 

JQ2 has not obtained copyright who shall insert the notice, " Entered according to 
act of Congress," or "Copyright," or words of the same import, in or upon 
any book or other article. Each copyright secures the exclusive right of 
publishing the book or article copyrighted for the term of twenty-eight years. 
Six months before the end of that time, the author or designer, or his widow 
or children, may secure a renewal for the further term of fourteen years, mak- 
ing forty-two years in all. Any copyright is assignable in law by any instru- 
ment of writing, but such assignment must be recorded in the office of the 
Librarian of Congress within sixty days from its date. The fee for this 
record and certificate is one dollar. A copy of the record (or duplicate 
certificate) of any copyright entry will be furnished, under seal, at the rate of 
50 cents. Copyrights cannot be granted upon trade-marks, nor upon labels 
intended to be used with any article of manufacture. If protection for such 
prints or labels is desired, application must be made to the Patent Office, 
where they are registered at a fee of $6 for labels and ^^25 for trade-marks. 
An American author, who is within the British dominions at the time of the 
first publishing of his book, and who publishes it there, is entitled to the 
protection of their copyright laws. 



Centenarians. 

The most remarkable were: The Countess of Desmond, killed by falling 
from a cherry-tree, in her 146th year. 

Thomas Parr, died after a dinner party, in his I52d year. 

Cardinal de Salis, who recommended daily exercise in all weathers, aged 
1 10 years. 

John Riva, of Venice, who chewed citron bark daily, died at the age of 1 16 
years, leaving a son of 14 years. 

Besides the foregoing, Mrs. Ann Butler died at Portsmouth, England, 
January, 1883, at the age of 103 years. 

Mrs. Betty Lloyd died at Ruabon, Wales, in March, 1883, in her 107th 
year, her funeral being attended by two of her children, aged over 80 years. 



What Machinery Accomplishes. 

1. A sewing-machine does the work of 12 women. The United States 
export 100,000 of these machines yearly. 

2. A Boston "bootmaker" will enable a workman to make 300 pairs of 
boots daily. In 1880 there were 3,100 of these machines in various coun- 
tries, turning out 150 million pairs of boots yearly. 

3. Glenn's California reaper will cut, thresh, winnow and put in bags 
the wheat of 60 acres in 24 hours. 

4. The Hercules ditcher, Michigan, removes 750 cubic yards, or 700 
tons of clay per hour. 

5. The Darlington borer enables one man to do the work of seven in 
making a tunnel, and reduces the cost to one-third of work done by hand; it^ 
also permits a week's work to be done in two days. 



Average Annual Rainfall in the United States. 



Neah Bay, Wash 123 

Sitka, Alaska 83 

Ft. Haskins, Oregon 66 

Mt. Vernon, Alabama 66 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 60 

Meadow Valley, California 57 

Ft. Tonson, Indian Ter 57 

Ft. Myers, Florida 56 

Washington, Arkansas 54 

Huntsville, Alabama 54 

Natchez, Mississippi 53 

New Orleans, Louisiana 51 

Savannah, Georgia 48 

Springdale, Kentucky 48 

Fortress Monroe, Virginia 47 

Memphis, Tennessee 45 

Newark, New Jersey 44 

Boston, Massachusetts 44 

Brunswick, Maine 44 

Cincinnati, Ohio 44 

New Haven, Connecticut 44 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 44 

Charleston, South Carolina 43 

New York City, N Y 43 

Gaston, North Carolina 43 

Richmond, Indiana 43 

Marietta, Ohio 43 

St. Louis, Missouri 43 

Muscatine, Iowa 42 

Baltimore, Maryland 41 

New Bedford, Massachusetts 41 

Providence, Rhode Island 41 

Ft. Smith, Arkansas 40 



Place. Inches. 

Hanover, New Hampshire 40 

Ft. Vancouver 3^^ 

Cleveland, Ohio 37 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 37 

Washington, D. C 37 

White Sulphur Springs, Va 37 

Ft. Gibson, Indian Territory 36 

Key West, Florida 36 

Peoria, Illinois 35 

Burlington, Vermont 34 

Buffalo, New York 33 

Ft. Brown, Texas 33 

Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas 31 

Detroit, Michigan 30 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 30 

Penn Yan, New York 28 

Ft Kearney 25 

Ft. Snelling, Minnesota 25 

Salt Lake City, Utah 23 

Mackinac, Michigan 23 

San Francisco, California 21 

Dallas, Oregon 21 

Sacramento, California 21 

Ft. Massachusetts, Colorado 17 

Ft Marcy, New Mexico Ter 16 

Ft. Randall, Dakota 16 

Ft. Defiance, Arizona 14 

Ft. Craig, New Mexico Ter ri 

San Diego, California 9 

Ft Colville, Washington ... .9 

Ft. Bliss, Texas 9 

Ft. Bridger, Utah 6 

Ft. Garland, Colorado 6 



Food for 
Plants 



193 



Number of Years Seeds Retain Their Vitality. 



Vegetables. Years. 

Cucumber 8 to 10 

Melon 8 to 10 

Pumpkin 8 to 10 

Squash 8 to 10 

Broccoli 5 to 6 

Cauliflower 5 to 6 

Artichoke 5 to 6 

Endive 5 to 6 

Pea 5 to 6 

Radish 4 to 5 

Beets 3 to 4 

Cress 3 to 4 

Lettuce 3 to 4 

Mustard 3 to 4 

Okra 3 to 4 

Rhubarb 3 to 4 

Spinach 3 to 4 

Turnip . 3 to 6 



Vegetables. Years. 

Asparagus 2 to 3 

Beans 2 to 3 

Carrots 2 to 3 

Celery 2 to 3 

Corn (on cob) . . 2 to 3 

Leek 2 to 3 

Onion 2 to 3 

Parsley 2 to 3 

Parsnip 2 to 3 

Pepper 2 to 3 

Tomato 2 to 3 

Egg-Plant I to 2 

HERBS. • 

Anise . 3 to 4 

Caraway 2 

Summer Savory i to 2 

Sage 2 to 3 



Food for How Deep in the Ground to Plant Corn. 

Plants 
The following is the result of an experiment with Indian Corn. That 

194 which was planted at the depth of 

1 inch, came up in 8)4 days. 

lyi inch, came up in 9/^ days. 

2 inches, came up in lo days. 

2% inches, came up in. . ii/^ days. 

3 inches, came up in 12 days. 

3^ inches, came up in 13 days. 

4 inches, came up in I3>^ days. 

The more shallow the seed was covered with earth, the more rapidly the 
sprout made its appearance, and the stronger afterwards was the stalk. The 
deeper the seed lay, the longer it remained before it came to the surface. 
Four inches was too deep for the maize, and must, therefore, be too deep for 
smaller kernels. 

Amount of Barbed Wire Required for Fences. 

Estimated number of pounds of Barbed Wire required to fence space or 
distances mentioned, with one, two or three lines of wire, based upon each 
pound of wire measuring one rod (16J feet). 

I I,ine. 2 I,ines. 3 l,ines. 

I square acre 50% lbs. 101V3 lbs. 152 lbs. 

I side of a square acre. . . X2% lbs. 25V3 lbs. 38 lbs. 

I square half-acre 36 lbs. 72 lbs. 108 lbs. 

I square mile 1280 lbs. 2560 lbs. 3840 lbs. 

I side of a square mile . . 230 lbs. 640 lbs. 960 lbs. 

I rod in length i lb. 2 lbs. 3 'bs. 

100 rods in length loo lbs. 200 lbs. 300 lbs. 

IOC feet in length GVielbs. 12% lbs. l8%6 lbs. 

How Grain will Shrik. 

Farmers rarely gain by holding on to their grain after it is fit for market, 
when the shrinkage is taken into account. Wheat, from the time it is 
threshed, will shrink two quarts to the bushel or six per cent, in six months, 
in the most favorable circumstances. Hence, it follows that ninety-four 
cents a bushel for wheat when first threshed in August, is as good, taking 
into account the shrinkage alone, as one dollar in the following February. 

Corn shrinks much more from the time it is first husked. One hundred 
bushels of ears, as they come from the field in November, will be reduced to 
not far from eighty. So that forty cents a bushel for corn in the ear, as it 
comes from the field, is as good as fifty in March, shrinkage only being taken 
into account. 

In the case of potatoes — taking those that rot and are otherwise lost — 
together with the shrinkage, there is but little doubt that between October 
and June, the loss to the owner who holds them is not less than thirty-three 
per cent. 

This estimate is taken on the basis of interest at 7 per cent., and takes no 
account of loss by vermin. 

One hundred pounds of Indian meal is equal to 76 pounds of wheat, 83 
of oats, 90 of rye, ill of barley, 333 of corn stalks. 



Length of Navigation of the Mississippi River. Food for 

The length of navigation of the Mississippi River itself for ordinary large 

steamboats is about 2,i6l miles, but small steamers can ascend about 650 195 

miles further. The following are its principal navigable tributaries, with 

the miles open to navigation: 

Miles. Miles. 

Minnesota 295 Wisconsin 160 

Chippewa 9° Rock 64 

Iowa ^o Illinois 35° 

Missouri 2900 Yellowstone 474 

Big Horn 5° Ohio 95° 

Allegheny 325 Monongahela i ro 

Muskingum 94 Kanawha 94 

Kentucky 105 Green 200 

Wabash 365 Cumberland 600 

Tennessee 270 Clinch 50 

Osage 302 St. Francis 180 

White 779 Black I47 

Little White 48 Arkansas 884 

Big Hatchie 75 Issaquena 161 

Sunflovjer 271 Yazoo 228 

Tallahatchie I75 Big Black 35 

Red 986 Cane 54 

Cypress 44 Ouachita 384 

Black 6r Boeuf 55 

Bartholomew 100 Tensas 112 

Macon : 60 Teche 91 

Atchafalaya 218 D'Arbonne 50 

Lafourche 168 

The other ten navigable tributaries have less than fifty miles each of naviga- 
tion. The total miles of navigation of these fifty-five streams is about 16,500 
miles, or about two-thirds the distance around the world. The Mississippi 
and its tributaries may be estimated to possess 15,550 miles navigable to 
steamboats, and 20,221 miles navigable to barges. 



How to Measure Corn in Crib, Hay in Mow, Etc. 

This rule will apply to a crib of any size or kind. Two cubic feet of good, 
sound, dry corn in the ear will make a bushel of shelled corn. To get, then, 
the quantity of shelled corn in a crib of corn in the ear, measure the length, 
breadth and height of the crib, inside of the rail; multiply the length by the 
breadth and the product by the height; then divide the product by two, and 
you have the number of bushels of shelled corn in the crib. 

To find the number ot bushels of apples, potatoes, etc., in a bin, multiply 
the length, breadth and thickness together, and this product by 8, and point 
off one figure in the product for decimals. 

To find the amount of hay in a mow, allow 512 cubic feet for a ton, and 
it will come out very generally correct. 



The Great Canals of the World. 

The Imperial canal of China is over 1,000 miles long. In the year of 1861 
was completed the greatest undertaking of the kind on the European conti- 
nent, the canal of Languedoc, or the Canal du Midi, to connect the Atlantic 



Food for with the Mediterranean; its length is 148 miles, it has more than 100 locks, 
Plants and about 50 aqueducts, and its highest part is no less than 600 feet above 
jq5 the sea; it is navigable for vessels of upward of 100 tons. The largest ship 
canal in Europe is the great North Holland canal, completed in 1825 — 125 
feet wide at the water surface, 31 feet wide at the bottom, and has a depth of 
20 feet; it extends from Amsterdam to the Helder, 51 miles. The Caledonia 
canal, in Scotland, has a total length of 60 miles, including 3 lakes. The 
Suez canal is 88 miles long, of which 66 miles are actual canal. The Erie 
canal is 350J miles long; the Ohio canal, Cleveland to Portsmouth, 332; the 
Miami and Erie, Cincinnati to Toledo, 291; the Wabash and Erie, Evans- 
ville to the Ohio line, 374. 



Carrying Capacity of a Freight Car. 

This Table is for Ten Ton Cars. 

Whiskey 60 barrels. Lumber 6,000 feet. 

Salt 70 " Barley 300 bushels. 

Lime 70 " Wheat 340 

Flour 90 " Flax Seed 360 

Eggs 130 to 160 " Apples 370 

Flour 200 sacks. Corn 400 

Wood 6 cords. Potatoes 430 

Cattle 18 to 20 head. Oats 680 

Hogs 50 to 60 " Bran i,oco 

Sheep 80 to 100 ' ' Butter 20,000 pounds 



Rules for Business Farmers. 

The way to get credit is to be punctual in paying your bills. The way to 
preserve it is not to use it much. Settle often; have short accounts. 

Trust no man's appearances — they are deceptive — perhaps assumed, for 
the purpose of obtaining credit. Beware of gaudy exterior. Rogues usually 
dress well. The rich are plain men. Trust him, if any, who carries but 
little on his back. Never trust him who fiies into a passion on being dunned; 
make him pay quickly, if there be any virtue in the law. 

Be well satisfied before you give a credit that those to whom you give it 
are safe men to be trusted. 

Sell your goods at a small advance, and never misrepresent them, for those 
whom you once deceive will be aware of you the second time. 

Deal uprightly with all men, and they will repose confidence in you, and 
soon become your permanent customers. 

Beware of him who is an office seeker. Men do not usually want an 
office when they have anything to do. A man's affairs are rather low when 
he seeks office for support. 

Trust no stranger. Your goods are better than doubtful charges. What 
is character worth, if you make it cheap by crediting everybody ? 

Agree beforehand with every man about to do a job, and, if large, put it 
into writing. If any decline this, quit, or be cheated. Though you want a 
job ever so much, make all sure at the onset, and in a case at all doubtful, 
make sure of a guarantee. Be not afraid to ask it; the best test of responsi- 
bility; for, if offence be taken, you have escaped a loss. 



Business Laws in Brief. '' Food for 

- . , - Plants 
Ignorance or law excuses none. 

It is a fraud to conceal a fraud. '97 

The law compels no one to do impossibilities. 

An agreement without consideration is void. 

Signatures made with lead-pencil are good in law. 

A receipt for money paid is not legally conclusive. 

The acts of one partner bind all the others. 

Contracts made on Sunday cannot be enforced. 

A contract made with a minor is invalid. » 

A contract made with a lunatic is void. 

Contracts for advertising in Sunday newspapers are invalid. 

Each individual in a partnership is responsible tor the whole amount of 
the debts of the firm. 

Principals are responsible for the acts of their agents. 

Agents are responsible to their principals for errors. 

A note given by a minor is void. 

It is not legally necessary to say on a note "for value received." 

A note drawn on Sunday is void. 

A note obtained by fraud, or from a person m a state of intoxication, 
cannot be collected. 

If a note be lost or stolen, it does not release the maker; he must pay. 

The indorser of a note is exempt from liability if not served with notice 
of its dishonor within twenty-four hours of its non-payment. 



How to Treat Sunstroke. 

Take the patient at once to a cool and shady place, but don't carry him 
far to a house or hospital. Loosen the clothes thoroughly about his neck and 
waist. Lay him down with the head a little raised. Apply wet cloths to the 
head, and mustard or turpentine to the calves of the legs and the soles of the 
feet. Give a little weak whiskey and water if he can swallow. Meanwhile, 
let some one go for the doctor. You cannot safely do more without his 
advice. 

Sunstroke is a sudden prostration due to long exposure to great heat, 
especially when much fatigued or exhausted. It commonly happens from 
undue exposure to the sun's rays in summer. It begins with pain in the 
head, or dizziness, quickly followed by loss of consciousness and complete 
prostration. 



How to Remove the Smell of Paint from a Room. 

The smell of paint may be taken away by closing up the room and setting 
in the centre of it a pan of lighted charcoal, on which have been thrown some 
juniper berries. Leave this in the room for a day and a night, when the smell 
of the paint will be gone. This is also effectual in removing the odor of 
tobacco smoke from the room. 



198 



Food for Time Required for Digesting Food. 

Plants Food. How Cooked. h.m. 

Apples, sour, hard Raw 2 . 50 

Apples, sweet, mellow Raw i ■ 30 

Bass, striped Broiled 3.00 

Beans, pod Boiled 2 . 30 

Beans and green corn Boiled 3-45 

Beef Fried . . 4 . 00 

Beefsteak Broiled 3 . 00 

Beef, fresh, lean, dry Roasted 3.30 

Beef, fresh, lean, rare Roasted 3.00 

Beets Boiled 3 . 45 

Bread, corn Baked ; 3.15 

Bread, wheat, fresh Baked 1.30 

Cabbage Raw 2 . 30 

Cabbage, with vinegar Raw 2.00 

Cabbage .'. Boiled 4 • 30 

Carrot, orange Boiled 3-13 

Catfish Fried 3 . 30 

Cheese, old, strong Raw 3 -30 

Chicken, full grown Fricasseed 2.45 

Codfish, cured dry Boiled 2.00 

Custard Baked 2.45 

Duck , tame Roasted 4 . 00 

Duck, wild Roasted 4 -30 

Eggs, fresh Raw 2.00 

Eggs, fresh Scrambled 1.30 

Eggs, fresh Roasted 2.15 

Eggs, fresh Soft boiled 3-Oo 

Eggs, fresh '. Hard boiled 3 -30 

Eggs, fresh Fried 3-30 

Fowls, domestic Roasted 4.00 

Hashed meat and vegetables Warmed 2 . 30 

Lamb, fresh Broiled 2.30 

Milk Boiled 2.00 

Milk Raw 2.15 

Mutton, fresh Broiled 3.00 

Oysters, fresh Raw 2.55 

Oysters , fresh Roasted 3-i5 

Oysters, fresh Stewed 3 • 3° 

Parsnips Boiled 2 30 

Pork , steak Broiled 3.15 

Pork , fat and lean Roasted 5-15 

Pork , recently salted Stewed 3 • 00 

Pork , recently salted Fried 4-15 

Potatoes, Irish Baked 2.30 

Potatoes, Irish Boiled 3 • 3° 

Salmon, salted Boiled 4.00 

Sausages, fresh Broiled 3.20 

Soup, bean Boiled 3-oo 

Soup, chicken Boiled 3.00 

Soup , mutton Boiled 3 • 30 

Soup, beef, vegetables Boiled 4 .00 

Trout, salmon, fresh Boiled i • 30 

Turkey, domesticated Roasted 2.30 

Veal , fresh Boiled 4 . co 

Veal , fresh Fried 4 ■ 30 

Spirits of Turpentine a Valuable Remedy. 

This is one of the most valuable articles in a family, and when it has once 
obtained a foothold in a house, it is really a necessity, and could ill be 



dispensed with. Its medicinal qualities are very numerous; for burns it is a Food for 
quick application and gives immediate relief; for blisters on the hands it is of Plants 
priceless value, searing dow^n the skin and preventing soreness; for corns on ^gl 

the toes it is useful, and good for rheumatism and sore throats, and it is the 
quickest remedy for convulsions or fits. Then it is a sure preventive against 
moths; by just dropping a trifle in the bottom of drawers, chests and cup- 
boards, it will render the garments secure from injury during the summer. 
It will keep ants and bugs from closets and storerooms by putting a few drops 
in the corners and upon the shelves; it is sure destruction to bedbugs, and 
will effectually drive them away from their haunts if thoroughly applied to 
the joints of the bedstead in the spring cleaning time, and injures neither 
furniture nor clothing. Its pungent odor is retained for a long time, and no 
family ought to be entirely out of a supply at any time of the year. 

How to Rent a Farm. 

In the rental of property, the greater risk is always on the landlord's side. 
He is putting his property into the possession and care of another, and that 
other Is not infrequently a person of doubtful utility. These rules and 
cautions may well be observed: 

1. Trust to no verbal lease. Let it be in writing, signed and sealed. 
Its stipulations then become commands and can be enforced. Let it be 
signed in duplicate, so that each party may have an original. 

2. Insert such covenants as to repairs, manner of use and in restraint of 
waste, as the circumstances call for. As to particular stipulations, examine 
leases drawn by those who have had long experience in renting farms, and 
adopt such as meet your case. 

3. There should be covenants against assigning and underletting. 

4. If the tenant is of doubtful responsibility, make the rent payable in 
installments. A covenant that the crops shall remain the lessor's till the 
lessee's contracts with him have been fulfilled, is valid against the lessee's 
creditors. In the ordinary case of renting farms on shares, the courts will 
treat the crops as the joint property of lord and tenant, and thus protect the 
former's rights. 

5. Every lease should contain stipulations for forfeiture and re-entry in 
case of non-payment or breach of any covenants. 

6. To prevent a tenant's committing waste, the courts will grant an 
injunction. 

7. Above all, be careful in selecting your tenant. There is more in the 
man than there is in the bond. 



Franklin's Words of Wisdom. 

Want of care does us more damage than want of knowledge. 

For want of a nail the shoe was lost, and for want of a shoe the horse 
was lost. 

For age and want save while you may, no morning sun lasts all the day. 

Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other. 

Lying rides upon debt's back; it is hard for an empty bag to stand 
upright. 



Food for Creditors have better memories than debtors. 

Plants Women and wine, game and deceit, make the wealth small and the want 

20^ great. 

What maintains one vice would bring up two children. 

Plough deep while sluggards sleep; and you shall have corn to sell and 
to keep. 

Work to-day, for you know not how much you may be hindered to- 
morrow. 

Fly pleasure and it will follow you. The diligent spinner has a large shift. 

Now I have a sheep and a cow, everybody bids me good-morrow. 

Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee. 

If you would have your business done, go, if not, send. 

Who dainties love shall beggars prove. Fools lay out money and buy 
repentance. 

Foolish men make feasts, and wise men eat them. 

He that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive. 

The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands. 

Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire. 

Always taking out of the meal tub and never putting in, soon comes to 
the bottom. 

Drive thy business, let not that drive thee. Sloth makes all things 
difficult, industry all easy. 

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. 

If you would know the value of money, try to borrow some. 

When the well is dry, they know the worth of water. 

Not to oversee workmen, is to leave them your purse open. 

If you would have a faithful servant, and one that you like, serve yourself. 

By diligence and perseverance the mouse ate the cable in two. 

Diligence is the mother of good luck; and God gives all things to 
industry. 

Industry needs not wish, and he that lives upon hope will die fasting. 

There are no gains without pains; then help hands, for I have no lands. 

Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou wilt sell thy necessaries. 

At a great pennyworth pause awhile; many are ruined by buying 
bargains. 



Philosophical Facts. 

The greatest height at which visible clouds ever exist does not exceed 
ten miles. 

Air is about eight hundred and fifteen times lighter than water. 

The pressure of the atmosphere upon every square foot of the earth 
amounts to two thousand one hundred and sixty pounds. An ordinary sized 
man, supposing his surface to be fourteen square feet, sustains the enormous 
pressure of thirty thousand, two hundred and forty pounds. 

The barometer falls one-tenth of an inch for every seventy-eight feet of 
elevation. 

The violence of the expansion of water when freezing is sufficient to cleave 
a globe of copper of such thickness as to require a force of 27,000 pounds, to 
produce the same effect. 



During the conversion of ice into water one hundred and forty degrees of Food for 
heat are absorbed. P^^°*^ 

Water, when converted into steam, increases in bulk eighteen hundred 201 
times. 

In one second of time — in one beat of the pendulum of a clock, light 
travels two hundred thousand miles. Were a cannon ball shot toward the 
sun, and were it to maintain full speed, it would be twenty years in reaching 
it — and yet light travels through this space in seven or eight minutes. 

Strange as it may appear, a ball of a ton weight and another of the same 
material of an ounce weight, falling from any height will reach the ground at 
the same time. 

The heat does not increase as we rise above the earth nearer to the sun 
but decreases rapidly until, beyond the regions of the atmosphere, in void, it 
is estimated that the cold is about seventy degrees below zero. The line of 
perpetual frost at the equator is 15,000 feet altitude; 13,000 feet between 
the tropics; and 9,000 to 4,000 between the latitudes of forty degrees and 
forty-nine degrees. 

At a depth of forty-five feet under ground, the temperature of the earth is 
uniform throughout the year. 

In summer time, the season of ripening moves northward at the rate of 
about ten miles a day. 

The human ear is so extremely sensitive that it can hear a sound that lasts 
only the twenty-four thousandth part of a second. Deaf persons have 
sometimes conversed together through rods of wood held between their teeth, 
or held to their throat or breast. 

The ordinary pressure of the atmosphere on the surface of the earth is 
two thousand one hundred and sixty-eight pounds to each square foot, or 
fifteen pounds to each square inch; equal to thirty perpendicular inches of 
mercury, or thirty-four and a half feet of water. 

Sound travels at the rate of one thousand one hundred and forty-two feet 
per second — about thirteen miles in a minute. So that if we hear a clap of 
thunder half a minute after the flash, we may calculate that the discharge of 
electricity is six and a half miles off. 

Lightning can be seen by reflection at the distance of two hundred miles. 

The explosive force of closely confined gunpowder is six and a half tons 
to the square inch. 



What Housekeepers Should Remember. 

That cold rain water and soap will remove machine grease from washable 
fabrics. 

That fish may be scaled much easier by first dipping them into boiling 
water for a minute. 

That fresh meat beginning to sour, will sweeten if placed out of doors in 
the cool air over-night. 

That milk which has changed may be sweetened or rendered fit tor use 
again by stirring in a little soda. 

That boiling starch is much improved by the addition of sperm or salt, 
or both, or a little gum arabic dissolved. 



Food tor That a tablespoonful of turpentine, boiled with your white clothes, will 
Plants greatly aid the whitening process. 

202 That kerosene will soften boots and shoes that have been hardened by 

water, and will render them as pliable as new. 

That thoroughly wetting the hair once or twice with a solution of salt and 
water will keep it from falling out. 

That salt fish are quickest and best freshened by soaking in sour milk. 

That one teaspoonful of ammonia to a teacup of water applied with a 
rag, will clean silver or gold jewelry perfectly. 

That salt will curdle new milk, hence, in preparing porridge, gravies, etc., 
salt should not be added until the dish is prepared. 

That paint stains that are dry and old may be removed from cotton or 
woolen goods with chloroform. It is a good plan to first cover the spot with 
olive oil or butter. 

That clear boiling water will remove tea stains; pour the water through 
the stain and thus prevent its spreading over the fabric. 

That charcoal is recommended as an absorber of gases in the milk room 
where foul gases are present. It should be freshly powdered and kept there 
continually, especially in hot weather, when unwholesome odors are most 
liable to infect the milk. 

That by applying kerosene with a rag when you are about to put your 
stoves away for the summer, will prevent them from rusting. Treat your 
farming implements in the same way before you lay them aside in the fall. 

That a teaspoonful of borax put in the last water in which clothes are 
rinsed, will whiten them surprisingly. Pound the borax so it will dissolve 
easily. This is especially good to remove the yellow that time gives to white 
garments that have been laid aside for two or three years. 

That a good agency for keeping the air of the cellar sweet and wholesome 
is whitewash, made of good white lime and water only. The addition of 
glue or size, or anything of this class, is only a damage, by furnishing organic 
matter to speedily putrify. The use of lime in whitewash is not simply to 
give a white color, but it greatly promotes the complete oxidation of effluvia 
in the cellar air. Any vapors that contain combined nitrogen in the unoxi- 
dized form contribute powerfully to the development of disease germs. 



How to Preserve Eggs. 

To each pailful of water, add two pints of fresh slacked lime and one pint 
of common salt; mix well. Pill your barrel half full with this fluid, put your 
eggs down in it any time after June, and they will keep two years, if desired. 



Estimating Measures. 

A pint of water weighs nearly i pound, and is equal to about 27 cubic 
inches, or a square box 3 inches long, 3 inches wide and 3 inches deep. 

A quart of water weighs nearly 2 pounds, and is equal to a square box of 
about 4 by 4 inches and 3J inches deep. 

A gallon of water weighs from 8 to 10 pounds, according to the size of the 
gallon, and is equal to a box 6 by 6 inches square and 6, 7 or 7J inches deep. 



203 



A peck is equal to a box 8 by 8 inches square and 8 inches deep. Food for 

A bushel almost fills a box 12 by I2 inches square and 24 inches deep, Plants 
or 2 cubic feet. 

A cubic foot of water weighs nearly 64 pounds (more correctly, 62^ 
pounds), and contains from 7 to 8 gallons, according to the kind of gallons 
used. 

A barrel of water almost fills a box 2 by 2 feet square and I J feet deep, or 
6 cubic feet. 

Petroleum barrels contain 40 gallons, or nearly 5 cubic feet. 



Number of Nails and Tacks per Pound. 



NAILS. 
Size 



3 penny, fine 1% inch. 



3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
10 
12 

16 
20 
30 
40 

50 

6 

8 

10 

12 



IX 

^Vz 

I^ 

2 

2^ 

2^ 

2% 

3 

3U 

■ ■■■iVz 

4 

4^ 

5 

syi 

fence 2 
" 2% 
" 3 
" 3^ 



Number 
Per Lb 

760 nails 

480 

300 

200 

160 

128 

92 

72 

60 

44 

32 

24 

18 

14 
12 
80 
50 
34 
29 



Name 
I 

iK 

2 

2^ 

3 

4 

6 

8 
10 
12 

14 
16 
iS 
20 
22 
24 



oz. 



TACKS. Number 

Length. Per Lb. 

. /^ inch. ... .16,000 

10,666 

8,000 

.... 6,400 

5,333 

4,000 

2,666 

2,000 

1 ,600 

1,333 

1,143 

I ,000 

%6 •• 888 

.1 " 800 

iVie " 727 

.I'A " 666 



.%6 

■ H 
Me 

.%6 

■ H 

.Hie 



The Longest and 

Name. 

Amazon 

Nile 

Missouri, to its junction with the 

Mississippi 

Missouri, to the sea, forming the 

longest in the world 

Mississippi, proper 

Lena 

Niger, or Jobila 

Obe 

St. Lawrence 

Madeira 

Arkansas 

Volga 

Rio Grande 

Danube 

St. Francisco 

Columbia 

Nebraska 



Greatest Rivers in the World. 

Miles. Name. Miles. 

3,600 Red River 1,200 

3,000 Colorado in California 1,100 

Yellowstone i ,000 

2,900 Ohio 950 

Rhine 950 

4,100 Kansas 900 

2,800 Tennessee 800 

2,600 Red River of the North 700 

2,600 Cumberland 600 

2,500 Alabama 600 

2,200 Susquehanna 500 

2 ,000 Potomac 500 

2,000 James 500 

2,000 Connecticut 450 

1,800 Delaware 400 

1 ,600 Hudson 350 

1 ,300 Kennebec 300 

1 ,200 Thames 233 

1,200 



Food for 
Plants 

204 



Number Brick Required to Construct any Building. 

(Reckoning 7 Brick to Each Superficial Foot.) 



Superficial Feet 
of Wall. 



I. 

2, 

4. 

6 

?• 
8. 

9 

lO. 

20, 

30 

40, 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

200 

300 

400 

500 

600 

700 

800 

900 

1000 



Number of Bricks to Thickness of 



d inch. 



7 

15 

23 

30 

38 

45 

53 

60 

68 

75 

150 

225 

300 

375 

450 

525 

600 

675 
750 
1,500 
2,250 
3,000 
3,750 
4,500 
5-250 
6,000 
6,750 
7.500 



8 inch. 



15 
30 
45 
60 

75 

90 

105 

120 

135 

150 

300 

450 

600 

750 

900 

1,050 

1,200 

1,350 

1,500 

3,000 

4.500 

6,000 

7,500 

9,000 

io,5(jo 

I 2, GOO 

13,500 

15,000 



23 

45 
68 
90 
113 
1.^5 
158 
180 
203 
225 
450 

675 
900 
1,125 
1.350 
1.575 
i,8co 

2,025 

2 250 

4,500 

6,750 

9,000 

11,250 

13.500 

15,750 

18,000 

20,250 

22,500 



16 inch. 



30 

60 

90 

120 

150 

180 

210 

240 

270 

300 

600 

900 

1.200 

1,500 

1,800 

2,100 

2,400 

2,700 

3,000 

6,000 

9 000 

1 2, COO 

i5,coo 
18,000 
21,000 
24,000 
27,000 
30,000 



38 

75 
"3 
150 
1 88 
225 
263 
300 
338 
375 
750 
1,125 
1,500 

1,875 

2,250 

2,625 

3,000 

3.375 

3.750 

7.500 

11,250 

15,000 

18,750 

22,500 

26,250 

30,000 

33-750 

37,500 



24 inch. 



45 
90 

135 
180 
225 
270 

3'5 
360 

405 
450 
900 

1,350 
1,800 
2,250 
2,700 

3,150 

3,600 

4,050 

4,500 

9 000 

13 500 

18,000 

22,500 

27,000 

31,500 

36,000 

40.500 

45,000 



Facts for Builders. 

One thousand shingles, laid 4 inches to the weather, will cover 100 square 
feet of surface, and 5 pounds of shingle nails will fasten them on. 

One-fifth more siding and flooring is needed than the number of square 
feet of surface to be covered, because of the lap in the siding and matching. 

One thousand laths will cover 70 yaids of surface, and 11 pounds of lath 
nails will nail them on. Eight bushels of good lime, 16 bushels of sand, and 
one bushel of hair, will make enough good mortar to plaster loo square yards. 

A cord of stone, 3 bushels of lime and a cubic yard of sand, will lay 100 
cubic feet of wall. 

Five courses of brick will lay one foot in height on a chimney; 16 bricks 
in a course will make a flue 4 inches wide and 12 inches long, and 8 bricks in 
a course will make a flue 8 inches wide and 16 inches long. 

Cement i bushel and sand 2 bushels will cover 3^ square yards one inch 
thick, 4^ square yards f inch thick, and 6| square yards h inch thick. One 
bush, cement and l of sand will cover 2j square yards i inch thick, 3 square 
yards f inch thick, and 4^ square yards, ^ inch thick. 



Weight of a Cubic Foot of 

Article. Pounds. 

Alcohol 49 

Ash wood 53 

Bay wood 51 

Brass, gun metal 543 

Blood 66 

Brick, common 102 

Cork IS 

Cedar 35 

Copper, cast 547 

Clay I 20 

Coal, Lehigh 56 

Coal, Lackawanna 50 

Cider 64 

Chestnut 3S 

Earth, loose 94 

Glass, window 165 

Gold 1,203% 

Hickory, shell bark 43 

Hay^bale 9 

Hay, pressed 25 

Honey. 90 

Iron, cast 450 

Iron, plates 481 

Iron, wrought bars 486 

Ice 571^ 

Lignum Vitse wood 83 

Logwood 57 

Lead, cast 709 



Earth, Stone, Metal, Etc. 

Article. Pounds. 

Milk 64 

Maple 47 

Mortar no 

Mud 102 

Marble, Vermont 165 

Mahogany 66 

Oak, Canadian 54 

Oak, live, seasoned 67 

Oak, white, dry 54 

Oil, linseed ' 59 

Pine, yellow 34 

Pine, white 34 

Pine, red 37 

Pine, well seasoned 30 

Silver 625^ 

Steel, plates 487^ 

Steel, soft 489 

Stone, common, about 158 

Sand, wet, about 128 

Spruce 31 

Tin 455 

Tar 63 

Vinegar 67 

Water, salt 64 

Water, rain 62 

Willow 36 

Zinc, cast 428 



Food for 
Plants 

205 



What a Deed to a Farm in Many States Includes. 

Every one knows it conveys all the fences standing on the farm, but all 
might not think it also included the fencing-stuff, posts, rails, etc., which had 
once been used in the fence, but had been taken down and piled up for future 
use again in the same place. But new fencing material, just bought, and 
never attached to the soil, would not pass. So piles of hop poles stored away, 
if once used on the land and intended to be again so used, have been con- 
sidered a part of it, but loose boards or scaffold poles merely laid across the 
beams of the barn, and never fastened to it, would not be, and the seller of 
the farm might take them away. Standing trees, of course, also pass as part 
of the land; so do trees blown down or cut down, and still left in the woods 
where they fell, but not if cut, and corded up for sale; the wood has then 
become personal property. 

If there be any manure in the barnyard, or in the compost heap on the 
field, ready for immediate use, the buyer ordinarily, in the absence of any 
contrary agreement, takes that also as belonging to the farm, though it might 
not be so, if the owner had previously sold it to some other party, and had 
collected it together in a heap by itself, for such an act might be a technical 
severance from the soil, and so convert real into personal estate; and even 
a lessee of a farm could not take away the manure made on the place while he 
was in occupation. Growing crops also pass by the deed of a farm, unless 
they are expressly reserved; and when it is not intended to convey those, it 
should be so stated in the deed itself; a mere oral agreement to that effect 
would not be, in most States, valid in law. Another mode is to stipulate that 



Food for possession is not to be given until some future day, in which case the crops or 

Plants manures may be removed before that time. 

17^ As to the buildings on the farm, though generally mentioned in the deed, 

it is not absolutely necessary they should be. A deed of land ordinarily 
carries all the buildings on it, belonging to the grantor, whether mentioned 
or not; and this rule includes the lumber and timber of any old building 
which has been taken down, or blown down, and packed away for future use 
on farm. 



Relative Value of Different Foods for Stock. 

One hundred pounds of good hay for stock are equal to: 



Articles. Pounds. 

Beets, white silesia 669 

Turnips 469 

Rye-Straw 429 

Clover, Red, Green 373 

Carrots 37 ' 

Mangolds 3^^'A 

Potatoes, kept in pit 350 

Oat-Straw 347 

Potatoes 360 

Carrot leaves (topsj 135 

Hay, English loo 



Articles. Pounds. 

Lucern 89 

Clover, red, dry 88 

Buckwheat 78^ 

Corn 62^ 

Oats 59 

Barley 58 

Rye 53J^ 

Wheat 44>^ 

Oil-Cake, linseed 43 

Peas, dry 37K 

Beans 28 



Weights and Measures for Cooks, Etc. 

I pound of Wheat Flour is equal to t quart 

I pound and 2 ounces of Indian Meal make i quart 

I pound of Soft Butter is equal to i quart 

I pound and 2 ounces of Best Brown Sugar make 1 quart 

I pound and I ounce of Powdered White Sugar make .... i quart 

I pound of Broken Loaf Sugar is equal to i quart 

4 Large Tablespoonfuls make )4 gill 

I Common-sized Tumbler holds /4 pint 

I Common-sized Wine-glass is equal to ^ gill 

I Tea-cup holds I gill 

I Large Wine-glass holds 2 ounces 

I Tablespoonful is equal to ^ ounce 



Capacity of Cisterns for Each 10 Inches in Depth. 



25 feet 
20 feet 
15 feet 
14 feet 
13 feet 
12 feet 
II feet 
10 feet 
9 feet 
8 feet 



n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 
n diameter 



holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds, 
holds. 



3059 

IIOI 

959 
827 
705 
592 
489 
396 



gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 
gallons 



7 


feet 1 


6^ 


feet 1 


6 


feet 


5 


feet 


4i 


feet 


4 


feet 


3 


feet 


2 A 


feet 


2 


feet 



n diameter holds. 


239 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


206 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


176 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


12? gallons 


n diameter holds. 


99 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


78 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


44 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


30 gallons 


n diameter holds. 


19 gallons 



Surveyor's Measure. 

7.92 inches i link, 25 links i rod, 4 rods i chain, 10 square chains or 160 
square rods i acre, 640 acres i square mile. 



Sizes of Boxes for Different Measures. Food for 

A box 24 inches long by 16 inches wide, and 28 inches deep, will contain 

a barrel, or three bushels. 207 

A box 24 inches long by 16 inches wide, and 14 inches deep, will contain 
half a barrel. 

A box 16 inches square and 8 2-5 inches deep, will contain one bushel. 

A box 16 inches by 8 2-5 inches wide, and 8 inches deep, will contain half 
a bushel. 

A box 8 inches by 8 2-5 inches square, and 8 inches deep, will contain 
one peck. 

A box 8 inches by 8 inches square, and 4 1-5 inches deep, will contain one 
gallon. 

A box 7 inches by 4 inches square, and 4 4-5 inches deep, will contain half 
a gallon. 

A box 4 inches by 4 inches square, and 4 1-5 inches deep, will contain one 
quart. 

A box 4 feet long, 3 feet 5 inches wide, and 2 feet 8 inches deep, will 
coriTain one ton of coal. 

Strength of Ice of Different Thickness. 

Two inches thick — Will support a man. 
Four inches thick — Will support a man on horseback. 
Five inches thick — Will support an eighty-pounder cannon. 
Eight inches thick — Will support a battery of artillery, with carriages and 
horses. 

Ten inches thick — Will support an army; an innumerable multitude. 

Amount of Oil in Seeds. 

Kinds of Seed Per Cent. Oil. Kinds of Seed. Per Cent. Oil. 

Rapeseed 55 Oats 6% 

Sweet Almond 47 Clover hay 5 

Turnipseed 45 Wheat bran 4 

White mustard 37 Oat straw 4 

Bitter almond 37 Meadow hay 3^ 

Hempseed 19 Wheat straw 3 

Linseed 17 Wheat flour 3 

Indian corn 7 Barley 2% 

Results of Saving Small Amounts of Money. 

The following shows how easy it is to accumulate a fortune, provided 
proper steps are taken. The table shows what would be the result at the 
end of fifty years by saving a certain amount each day and putting it at 
interest at the rate of six per cent: 

Daily Savings. The Result. Daily Savings. The Result. 

One cent $ 950 Sixty cents $57 ,024 

Ten cents 9, 504 Seventy cents 66,528 

Twenty cents 19,006 Eighty cents 76,032 

Thirty cents 28,512 Ninety cents 85,537 

Forty cents 38,015 One dollar 95, 041 

Fifty cents 47, 520 Five Dollars 465,208 



Food for Nearly every person wastes enough in twenty or thirty years, which, if 

Plants saved and carefully invested, would make a family quite independent; but 
208 the principle of small savings has been lost sight of in the general desire to 

become wealthy. 



Savings Bank Compound Interest Table. , 

Showing the Amount of $i, from One Year to Fifteen Years, with 
Compound Interest Added Semi-Annually, at Different Rates. 



One year 

Two years. . . . 
Three years. . . 
Four years. . . . 
Five years .... 
Six years 
Seven years 
Eight years . . . 
Nine years. . . . 
Ten years .... 
Eleven years . . 
Twelve years. . 
Thirteen years 
Fourteen years 
Fifteen years. . 



Three 


Four 


Five 


Per Cent. 


Per Cent. 


Per Cent. 


$1 03 


$t 


04 


$f 


05 


1 06 




08 




10 


I 09 




T2 




r.5 


I 12 




17 




21 


I 16 




2f 




28 


I 19 




26 




34 


I ?.^ 




31 




4' 


I 26 




37 




48 


I 30 




42 




55 


I 34 




48 




63 


I 38 




54 




72 


I 42 




6n 




80 


r 47 




67 




90 


I 5' 




73 




99 


f 56 




So 


2 


09 



Time at which Money Doubles at Interest. 

Kate. Simple Interest. Compound Interest. 

Two per cent 5° years 35 years, r day 

Two and one-half per cent 40 years 28 years, 26 days 

Three per cent 33 years, 4 months 23 years, 164 days 

Three and one-half per cent 28 years, 208 days 20 years, 54 days 

Four per cent 25 years 17 years, 246 days 

Four and one-half per cent 22 years, 8[ days J 5 years, 273 days 

Five per cent 20 years 15 years, 75 days 

Six per cent 16 years, 8 months r r years, 327 days 



One Dollar Loaned One Hundred Years .'vt Compound Interest 
Would Amount to the Following Sum: 



One per cent $ 2.75 

Three per cent '9-25 

Six per cent 340-'-'0 

Ten per cent 13,809.00 



Twelve per cent $ 84,675.00 

Fifteen per cent 1,174, 40s. 00 

Eighteen per cent. . . . 15,145,207.00 
Tweuty-four per cent. 2 ,55 1 ,799,404.00 



Fertilization and Cultivation of pLV" 
Corn and Cotton. 2°9 

Bulletin of North Carolina Department of Agriculture. 



By DR. B. W. KILGORE, Raleigh, N. C. 



Corn 

It unquestionably pays well to thoroughly ,, . 
break and broadcast harrow land for corn. 
Using a two-horse plow and running it 8 to lo inches deep, 
and afterwards harrowing with large smoothing harrow, 
puts the land in nice condition. It is also well to run a small- 
tootli harrow across corn rows about the time the plants are 
coming up, and even after they are several inches high, slant- 
ing the teeth of the harrow backward. Harrowing in this 
way saves after-cultivation, and is a quick way of getting 
over the land. The land being thoroughly broken before the 
corn is put in the ground, only shallow, level cultivation with 
some one of the considerable number of good cultivators 
need be given during the growing season. The one-horse 
cultivators cover corn rows in two to three furrows, and the 
two-horse ones at a single trip. The cultivation should be 
frequent — ^about every ten days — and if possible just after 
rains, so as to break any crust formed by showers, leaving a 
dust mulch to retard the loss of moisture added to the soil in 
the previous rains. Toward the end of the growing season 
the cultivators should only be run one to one and a half 
inches deep, so as to disturb as little as possible the roots of 
the plants, which, by that time, are well into the middle of 
the rows. 

The experimental work on the sandy soils ^^ ,.,. 

Fertilizers 
of the east, reports of which have been made , ^ 

, , . f. , for Corn, 

previously, has progressed tar enough, we 

feel, to draw some conclusions in reference to the best 

amounts and proportions of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 

potash for corn. As the results of the past two years' work 

have not yet been published, the following formulas, based 

on the result of the first two years' tests and tests in other 



Food for States with similar soil and climatic conditions, are eiven as 

Plants J r 
. good ones for corn: 

2IO 

For Corn on Land in Fair Condition. 

Acid phosphate, 14 per cent, phosphoric acid i)045 '^s- 

Cotton-seed meal, 6.59 per cent, nitrogen, 2.5 phos- 
phoric acid and 1.5 potash . 520 lbs. 

Nitrate of Soda, 15 per cent, nitrogen 225 lbs. 

Kainit, 12.5 per cent, potash 210 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

In this formula one-half of the nitrogen is supplied by 
nitrate of soda and the other one-half by cotton-seed meal. 
This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 8.0 per 
cent.; potash, 1.7 per cent.; nitrogen, 3.4 per cent, (equal to 
ammonia, 4.0 per cent.). 

Acid phosphate, 14 per cent, phosphoric acid 965 lbs. 

Cotton-seed meal, 6.59 per cent, nitrogen, 2.5 phos- 
phoric acid and 1.5 potash 750 lbs. 

Nitrate of Soda, 15 per cent, nitrogen no lbs. 

Kainit, 12.5 per cent, potash 175 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

In this formula one-fourth of the nitrogen is supplied by 
nitrate of soda and the other three-fourths by cotton-seed 
meal. This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 
'].'] per cent.; potash, 1.7 per cent.; nitrogen, 1^.1^ per cent, 
(equal to ammonia, 4.0 per cent.). 

This material is quick-acting because of its 
Nitrite of Soda, easy solubility in water. For this reason 

when used in a considerable quantity in 
fertilizers at time of planting on light sandy land, there is 
danger of its being leached beyond the reach of the roots of 
the plants before they can use it. On clay lands and loams 
having good subsoils, to them this danger does not exist, 
certainly not to the extent that it does on light soils. A small 
amount of nitrate of soda in the mixture will give the crop 
a quick start and make its cultivation easier and more 
economical. On light lands it would likely be better to omit 
the nitrate from the mixture and apply it as a top dressing 
between the tenth and last of June on early corn. Nitrate of 
soda may take the place of a portion of the other nitrogen- 
furnishing materials in any of the formulas, one pound of 
nitrate being equal in its content of nitrogen to 2.2 pounds 
cotton-seed meal, 2 pounds fish scrap, 1.2 pounds dried 



blood. Nitrate ot soda is frequently used as a top dressing ^<^od for 
for corn and is a valuable material for use in this way. A ^" ^ 
good application is 50 to 75 pounds per acre, distributed 2" 
along the side of the row or dropped beside the plants and 
three or four inches from them, or else where there is a ridge 
in the centre it may be distributed on this and when it is 
thrown out the nitrate will be thrown to the two sides of 
the row. 

On clay lands and loams having good sub- a ,• • 

soil the fertilizer should be applied in the ^ . . 

J n ^ ■ ^ u c 1 ^- ^ ^u ^ Fertihzers to 

drill, at or just before plantmg, at the rate 

of two to four hundred pounds per acre. 

On light sandy lands it is best to use 50 to 100 pounds (of 

nitrate) in the drill at time of planting, to give the crop a 

good start, and the balance of the fertilizer as a side-dressing 

when the corn has begun to grow well. 

Cotton. 

The remarks regarding the preparation Culture 
and cultivation of corn also apply with equal 
force to cotton, unless it be the part regarding breaking the 
land well before planting. Some doubt the necessity of this 
for cotton. Cotton is generally grown on ridges. This is 
necessary on wet soils, but on all fairly well-drained upland 
and sandy soils we are convinced that level and frequent 
shallow cultivation, as was indicated for corn, is the best 
and most economical method to follow in growing cotton. 
Ridge culture may give better results in very wet years,^but 
taking the seasons as they come the advantage will lie,^we 
think, with flat culture. 

The preliminary remarks regarding fertil- Fertilizers 
izers for corn also apply to cotton, the follow- r Qntton 
ing formulas being offered tentatively and 
as the result of our best judgment, after studying the best 
obtainable data on the subject: 

For Cotton on Land in Fair Condition. 

Acid phosphate, 14 per cent, phosphoric acid Ij0i5 lbs. 

Cotton-seed meal, 6.59 per cent, nitrogen, 2.5 phos- 
phoric acid and 1.5 potash 415 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda, 15 per cent, nitrogen 180 lbs. 

Kainit, 12.5 per cent, potash 390 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 



Food for 
Plants 



Brown Cotton. 



Without 
Manure. 



4 Cwt. 
Kainit. 



12 Tons Farm- 
Yard Manure. 



■*;' '"'• -tt^ 



• ,:' ^T>»^H3fci^.i^ 







4 Cwt. Superphosphate. 
2 Cwt. Nitrate of Soda. 



2 Tons of 
Poudrette. 



5 Cwt. 
Superphosphate. 



Abbasi \A/^hite Cotton, Lower Egypt. 



12 Tons Yard 
Manure. 



4 Cwt. 
Kainit. 



Without 
Manure. 




5 Cwt. 
Superphosphate. 



2 Cwt. 4 Cwt. Superphosphate. 

Nitrate of Soda. 2 Cwt. Nitrate of Soda. 



Results on Cotton Grown in Lower Egypt. 



In this formula one-half of the nitrogen is supplied by ^^°^ ^°^ 

Plants 
nitrate of soda and the other one-half by cotton-seed meal. 

This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 7.6 per ^'^ 

cent.; potash, 2.7 per cent.; nitrogen, 2.7 per cent, (equal to 

ammonia, ^.^ per cent.). 

Acid phosphate, 14 per cent, phosphoric acid 955 lbs. 

Cotton-seed meal, 6.59 per cent, nitrogen, 2.5 phos- 
phoric acid and 1.5 potash 605 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda, 15 per cent, nitrogen 90 lbs. 

Kainit, 12.5 per cent, potash 350 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

In this formula one-fourth of the nitrogen is supplied by 
nitrate of soda and the other three-fourths by cotton-seed 
meal. This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 
7.4 per cent.; potash, 2.6 per cent.; nitrogen, 2.6 per cent, 
(equal to ammonia, 3.1 per cent.). 

The remarks under corn regarding ^^^^^^ g^^^ ^^^ 
these two materials apply also to cotton, as j^j^rate of Soda 
do the suggestions concerning the change 
in the quantity of nitrogen-supplying materials in the for- 
mulas, should cotton follow peas or any other leguminous 
crop. In Formula No. 3 one-fourth of the Nitrogen is sup- 
plied by Nitrate of Soda, with the view of giving the crop 
a quick start, and in No. 2 one-half of the Nitrogen comes 
from this source. On light lands it will be good practice to 
omit this Nitrate from the mixture and apply it as a side- 
dressing about the middle of June. Good results come from 
the use of it in this way on heavy types of land. Where land 
does not produce a good stalk of cotton, and fertilizers are 
used which contain only a moderate amount of nitrogen, or 
ammonia, good results are obtained from a side-dressing of 
50 to 100 pounds of nitrate of soda per acre. The nitrate 
should be distributed along one side of the row, or where 
there is a ridge in the middle it may be put on this and when 
the ridge is thrown out the nitrate will be Application of 
thrown on two sides of the row. Fertilizer to 

The fertilizer should be applied in the rQ*.fQj, 
drill at or just before planting. The quantity 
used for cotton varies from 200 to 1,000 pounds per acre. 



Food for 
Plants 



Fertilizers for Tobacco. 



2H There are few products whose quahty and quantity are 

more affected by kind of soil and fertihzer than is tobacco. 
For bright tobacco, the main kind grown in this State, the 
fine and deep sandy loam with yellow-colored sandy clay 
subsoil is the type of land most largely used and the one 
which grows the best grade of this character of tobacco. 
Generally, the kind of soil that is suited to the production of 
tobacco is better understood than the fertilizer that should 
be used on it. Evidence of this is seen in the great variation 
in the composition of fertilizers sold in the State, especially 
for use on the tobacco crop. In 1901 there were registered 
with the Department of Agriculture one hundred and eight 
(108) special fertilizers for tobacco. It is interesting in this 
connection to note the wide variation as well as the average 
composition of these fertilizers. The highest amount of 
available phosphoric acid guaranteed in any of them was 
9.25 per cent., the lowest, 5 per cent., and the average 8.12 
per cent. The highest amount of ammonia guaranteed was 
10 per cent., the lowest 2 per cent., and the average 2.73 per 
cent. The highest amount of potash guaranteed was 5 per 
cent., the lowest i per cent., and the average 2.64 per cent. 
These wide variations in the amounts of the valuable fer- 
tilizer constituents indicate that the fertilizers themselves 
must have had very varying effects on the quality and 
quantity of the tobacco crop. 

A study of the experiments in tobacco-growing and a 
consideration of the experiences of good tobacco growers 
show that the amounts of ammonia and potash in the aver- 
age tobacco fertilizers, as stated above, are not as large as are 
needed to give the best results. It would appear that the 
largest amount of ammonia (10 per cent.) in any of these 
"specials" is greater than is required for bright tobacco, 
while the maximum quantity of potash (5 per cent.) in any 
of the 108 brands is less than is used by numbers of our best 
bright tobacco growers, especially in the eastern part of the 
State. A considerable number of these growers either mix 
their own tobacco fertilizers, or else have them put up 
according to formulas of their suggestion. Below are given 
five formulas for mixing fertilizers for tobacco. The grade 
of those fertilizers will be higher and they will, of course, 



cost more than the goods that are generally used in the State ^°°<^ ^^^ 

on tobacco, but I feel confident that the increased yield will 

more than justify the additional expense. In The Bulletin ^^^ 
of the Department of Agriculture and in our correspondence 
with farmers we have been recommending formulas of about 
the composition of these for a number of years, and evidence 
is accumulating which shows that the character ot tobacco 
fertilizers is undergoing quite a considerable change. 
No. I— 

Cotton-seed meal 900 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda 100 lbs. 

High-grade sulphate of potash 250 lbs. 

Acid phosphate, 14 per cent 750 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

*rhis mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 6.3 
per cent.; potash, 6.g per cent.; nitrogen, 3.7 per cent, (equal 
to ammonia, 4.5 per cent.). 

No. 2— 

High-grade dried blood 500 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda 125 lbs. 

High-grade sulphate of potash 310 lbs. 

Acid phosphate l»o65 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 7.4 
per cent.; potash, J.j per cent.; nitrogen, 4.3 per cent, (equal 
to ammonia, 5.2 per cent.). 

No. 3- 

Fish scrap 725 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda 100 lbs. 

High-grade sulphate of potash 300 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 875 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 7.2 
per cent.; potash, 7.5 per cent.; nitrogen, 3.8 per cent, (equal 
to ammonia, 4.6 per cent.). 
N0.4— 

Dried blood 500 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda lOO lbs. 

High-grade sulphate of potash 400 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 1,000 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 



Food for This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 7 
^^^°*^ per cent.; potash, 10 per cent.; nitrogen, 4.1 per cent, (equal 
216 to ammonia, 5 per cent.). 

No. 5- 

Cotton-seed meal 700 lbs. 

Nitrate of soda. 100 lbs. 

High-grade sulphate of potash 300 lbs. 

Acid phosphate 900 lbs. 

2,000 lbs. 

This mixture will contain: available phosphoric acid, 7.2 
per cent.; potash, 7.7 per cent.; nitrogen, 3.1 per cent, (equal 
to ammonia, 3.8 per cent.). 

Four hundred to one thousand pounds of these mixtures 
should be used to the acre. 

The mixtures made from formulas Nos. 2 and 3 are some- 
what more concentrated than that from No. i, on account 
of cotton-seed meal containing less ammonia than fish scrap 
and dried blood. The three formulas are given to enable the 
use of any one of the three main organic, nitrogenous mate- 
rials—dried blood, fish scrap and cotton-seed meal. In the 
coast sections, fish scrap and meal are both easily obtained; 
some distance inland meal is more accessible, while in the 
more western end of the tobacco belt it will be found con- 
venient to use dried blood. All three are good sources of 
ammonia for tobacco. The other materials — nitrate of 
soda, sulphate of potash and acid phosphate — are the same 
for all mixtures. 

Occasional requests are made for formulas furnishmg 
as much as 10 per cent, of potash, and No. 4 has been 
arranged to meet needs of this nature. It is known that 
excellent tobacco, in quality and quantity is grown by the use 
of fertilizers of this class, and some of our farmers greatly 
prefer them to others containing less potash. It takes con- 
siderable observation and experimentation to determine the 
best practice in matters of this kind. 

A limited quantity of stable manure is very beneficial to 
tobacco and it succeeds well after peanuts. These materials 
add ammonia to the soil, and where heavy applications of 
fertilizers are to be made in connection with manure, and on 
peanut land, it would be well not to have so much ammonia 
in the fertilizers as is used in the ones employed on land not 
having other ammonia materials put on them. Formula 



No. 5 is destined to meet cases of this kind. A good many ^^^^ ^^^ 



Plants 



Eastern tobacco growers plant tobacco after peanuts, and 
some of them grow peas between the hills of tobacco, plant- ^'^ 
ing them with hoes and putting six to ten peas in a place the 
latter part of June or early in July. This improves the soil 
for after-crops, but tobacco grown after tobacco and peas 
is said not to be of good quality; though, as would be 
expected, the growth is very large. 

Good results will come from the use of high grade fertili- 
zers, such as are suggested above, or similar ones, and we 
believe that when once tried there will be no inclination to go 
back to the lower grade ones now so largely used. 



Fertilizing Hay Crops. 

The experiments with fertilizers on hay crops, begun in 
1901, were continued during the season of 1902-3. During 
the season of 1901-2 it was found that the use of Thomas 
phosphate slag and sulphate of potash with Nitrate of Soda 
did not pay as we 1 as Nitrate of Soda used alone. The 
experiments during the last season were planned to test the 
availability of the phosphate after the first season. It was 
thought last year that there was a possibility that the in- 
soluble slag phosphate would become more available the 
second season after applying it. The plots used in the 
1 901-2 experiments were subdivided and given different 
applications of Nitrate of Soda used alone and in combina- 
tion with sulphate of potash used at the rate of 300 pounds 
per acre. 

The yield of hay was lower on both fertilized and unfer- 
tilized plots during the season of 1902-3 than it was in 
1901-2. This difference is undoubtedly due to an unfav- 
orable season. The late spring rainfall failed almost entirely, 
and to this no doubt must be attributed the decreased yield. 

An inspection of the summary of results tabulated below 
shows that the heaviest yields of hay on both red and 



2lS 



Food for granite soils and the largest money returns per acre were 
obtained from the plots which were fertilized with phos- 
phate during 190 1-2. On red soil with oats the gain from 
the use of Nitrate of Soda on the plot which had phosphate 
the year previous was $11.70 per acre, as against only 
33.72 per acre where the nitrate was used on land having 
no previous fertilization. 

On granite soil with oats, there was no gain from the 
phosphate. The use of Nitrate of Soda alone without pre- 
vious fertilization yielded $9.44 per acre profit, while on the 
plots having phosphate applied the previous year, the gain 
was only $5.74 per acre. 

The heaviest yield of hay and the largest profit per acre 
in 1903 were obtained with wheat on granite soil which had 
an application of Thomas slag, sulphate of potash, and lime 
in 1902. Nitrate of Soda was used at the rate of 320 pounds 
per acre in 1903. The yield of hay was 5,772 pounds per 
acre, and the resulting profit $I2;89 per acre. It should 
be remarked here, however, that this plot was fertilized at 
a loss of $21.50 per acre in 1902; and as the application 
of nitrate was larger than was used on any other plot, the 
increased returns were at least partly due to the increased 
supply of the nitrate. Through some misunderstanding, 
there was no no corresponding wheat plot on granite soil 
with nitrate only. 

The use of sulphate of potash in combination with Ni- 
trate of Soda, on granite soil, did not pay in 1903. Potash 
was used at the rate of 300 pounds per acre. In most cases 
the fertilizer cost more than the increased crop of hay; hence 
its use incurred a loss of from 76 cents to $4.57 per acre. 

The experiments with Nitrate of Soda used alone were 
broadened in 1903 to test the efficacy of different amounts 
per acre and the division of the application into two doses. 
The results show that in 1903, 160 pounds of Nitrate of 
Soda per acre in one application yielded the largest profits, 
viz.: $9.44 and S8.90 per acre, respectively, on two plots 
on granite soil. In all cases the yield was reduced when 
the fertilizer was put on in two applications; thus, with 
160 pounds per acre applied in two doses, only $4.82 and 
$7.27 per acre were yielded by two plots on granite soil. 



RHODE ISLAND EXPERIMENT STATION, ^ood for 

Plants 

What Percentage of Water Does Hay Lose ^'^ 

During Storage ? 

Hay which had been stored during the summer of iQOi 
was removed from the mow the follow^ing February, and 
found to contain 12.21 per cent, of water. A careful com- 
parison of other moisture determinations of hay leads to the 
conclusion that 12.21 is a fair general average of the per- 
centage of water in the best quality of barn-cured hay. 



RESULTS IN NEW^ YORK. 

The general practice among farmers is to buy complete 
medium or low-grade fertilizers in preference to high-grade 
fertilizers. In high-grade goods, the cost of plant-food is 
considerably less than in fertilizers of lower grade. 

Available phosphoric acid is cheapest in the form of 
dissolved rock (acid phosphate). Bone-meal furnishes a 
cheap source of phosphoric acid in less available form. 
Nitrate of Soda is one of the cheapest sources of Nitrogen, 
while bone is another. Nitrogen in the form of dried blood 
is rather high. Potash in the form of muriate is the cheapest 
source of potash. In mixtures of fertilizing materials, 
whether complete or incomplete, the plant-food usually costs 
more than in unmixed materials. 

When purchasing mixed fertilizers, farmers are ad- 
vised to purchase only high-grade goods, and then to make 
a commercial valuation to compare with the selling price. 
Evefj in high-grade goods, the selling price should not exceed 
the commercial valuation by more than $^. 

For greatest economy, farmers are advised to purchase 
unmixed materials and do their own mixing; or, in the case of 
clubs, several farmers can purchase their unmixed materials 
and hire a fertilizer manufacturer to do the mixing for them. 

The following data, taken from the last U. S. Census 
Report, are of interest in this connection as indicating in 
what portions of the State the largest amount of money is 
expended for commercial fertilizers: 



Food for Long Island (Counties of Nassau, Queens and Suffolk) 51,241,280 

Plants Monroe County 214,000 

^^^ Erie County 186,370 

Cayuga County 131,260 

Oneida County 112,630 

Onondaga, Ontario, Wayne, Ulster, Chautauqua, each from 

;^i02,ooo to 110,000 

These twelve counties use about one-half of the com- 
mercial fertilizers used in the entire State. 



Composition of Fertilizers in Different Classes. 

If we compare our four different classes of complete 
fertilizers in respect to the average amounts of Nitrogen, 
available phosphoric acid and potash contained in them, 
we have the following table : 

Composition of Different Grades of Fertilizers. 



Class of Fertilizers. 



Low-grade 

Medium-grade 

Medium high-grade. 
High-grade 



In roo Pounds of Fertilizer. 



Pounds 

of 

Nitrogen, 


Pounds 

of Available 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 


Pounds 

of 
Potash. 


Pounds 

of Total 

Plant-food. 


1.22 
1.70 

2.47 
4.00 


8.18 
Q. 10 
8.82 
8.36 


2.60 
3-48 
6.02 

7.22 


12.00 
14.28 

17-37 
19.60 



In the fourth column, under the heading "pounds of 
total plant-food," we give the sum of the Nitrogen, available 
phosphoric acid and potash. We notice the following 
points in connection with this table: 

1. The percentage of phosphoric acid does not vary 
greatly in the different classes of fertilizers. 

2. The percentage of Nitrogen and of potash increases 
in the higher grades. 

3. The total amount of plant-food in 100 pounds of 
fertilizer increases in the higher grades, this increase being 
due to increase of Nitrogen and potash. 

4. Representing the amount of Nitrogen in each grade 
of fertilizer as i, we have the following proportions of avail- 
able phosphoric acid and potash in the different grades: 



Composition of Different Grades of Fertilizers. 



Low-grade 

Medium-grade 

Medium high-grade 
High-grade 



Nitrogen. 



Available 

Phosphoric 

Acid. 



7 

5-5 

3-5 

2 



Food for 
Plants 



Potash. 



2 

2 
2-5 

1.8 



Cost of One Pound of Plant-Food in Different Grades of Fertilizers. 



Cost of one pound of Nitrogen. 

Lowest 

Highest 

Average 

Cost of one pound of Available Phos- 
phoric Acid. 

Lowest 

Highest 

Average ■ 

Cost of one pound of Potash. 

Lowest 

Highest 

Average 



Low 
Grade. 



Cents. 
20 

36.8 

26.3 



6.1 
II .1 

8.0 



5-2 

9-5 
6.8 



Medium 
Grade. 



Cents. 
17. g 

28.3 

23.2 



5-4 
8.6 



4.6 

7-3 
6.0 



Medium 
High- 
Grade, 



Cents. 
26 



51 
8.1 

6.4 



4-4 
6.9 

5-4 



High 
Grade 



Cents. 

26.0 
19.6 



4.25 

7-9 

6.0 



3-4 
6.7 

5-0 



From these data, we readily see the truth of the following 
statements : 

1. The cost of one pound of plant-food, whether Nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid or potash, is greatest in low-grade, and least 
in high-grade, fertilizers. One purchaser of low-grade 
goods paid 36.8 cents a pound for Nitrogen, while the highest 
price paid in high-grade goods was 26 cents, which is less 
than the average paid for Nitrogen in low-grade goods. 
The least amount paid for one pound of Nitrogen in low- 
grade goods was 20 cents, in high-grade goods 13.3 cents. 
Similar relations hold good in respect to the other elements 
of plant-food. 

2. In general, the higher the grade of goods, the lower 
the cost of each pound of plant-food. 



Food for 
Plants 



Cost of Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda. 

In the samples of Nitrate of Soda examined by us in 
1902, the percentage of Nitrogen varied from 15.21 to 16.20, 
averaging 15.77. The selling price varied from ^42 to 
1^48.50, averaging ^44.12. The commercial valuation varied 
from ^45.63 to %8.6o, averaging ^47.30, which was con- 
siderably in excess of selling price. The cost of one pound 
of Nitrogen in this form varied from 13 to 15 cents and 
averaged 13.9 cents. This was much cheaper than the cost 
of Nitrogen in the form of complete fertilizers. 



Tabulated General Summary. 

In the table following, we give a general summary of the 
data that have been presented, showing the cost of one 
pound of plant-food in different forms to consumers : 

Cost of One Pound of Plant-Food to Consumers. 



Nitrogen in 

Low-grade complete fertilizers 

Medium-grade complete fertilizers 

Medium high-grade complete fertilizers 

High-grade complete fertilizers 

Dried blood 

Bone-meal 

Nitrate of Soda 

Phosphoric Acid in 

Low-grade complete fertilizers 

Medium-grade complete fertilizers 

Medium high-grade complete fertilizers 

High-grade complete fertilizers 

Phosphoric acid and potash mixtures. . 

Acid phosphate or dissolved rock 

Bone (total) 

Potash in 

Low-grade complete fertilizers , 

Medium-grade complete fertilizers 

Medium high-grade complete fertilizers. 

High-grade complete fertilizers 

Phosphoric acid and potash mixtures. . . 
Muriate of potash 



Lowest 



Cents. 
20 
17.9 

17 

13-3 

14.8 
II. 5 
13 



. I 

■4 
. I 

•25 
•3 
•4 
. I 



5-2 

4- 

4- 



Highest. 



Cents. 
36.8 
28.3 
26 
26 

22.9 
32 
15 



7 

19 
II 

8.6 



Average. 



Cents. 
26.3 
23.2 
21 

19.6 
18.5 
14.9 
139 



8.0 

7.0 
6.4 

6.0 
6.6 

5-1 
3-96 



6.8 
6.0 
5-4 
5-0 
5-6 
4.6 



Plants can take up Nitrogen only in the form of ^0°^ *or 
Nitrates — that is, in combination with alkaline base, such ^°*^ 
as lime or sodium. 223 

The Nitrogen contained in all fertilizers, with the 
exception of Nitrate of Soda, must first be nitrified — that 
is, converted into Nitrate — before the plant can take it up. 
This nitrification is always attended with greater or less 
loss of Nitrogen. 

A sufficiency of lime in the soil hastens nitrification, 
while a scarcity of lime retards it. Nitrate of Soda is the 
only nitrogenous fertilizer that will do its work perfectly 
without lime, because it already contains Nitrogen in a 
form that is capable of absorption by plants. 

Leguminous plants assimilate free Nitrogen from the 
air through the medium of the micro-organisms inhabiting 
the nodules found in their roots. Leguminous plants, in 
the early stages of their growth, avail themselves of the 
Nitrates in the soil. Nitrate of Soda has been very profit- 
ably used in the cultivation of Lucern, or "Alfalfa," etc. 

Crops that have suffered from wintering, from insects, 
etc., can, in most cases, be considerably improved by top- 
dressing with Nitrate of Soda. 

When the soil is very poor in potash, the soda contained 
in Nitrate of Soda will, to a certain extent, serve as a sub- 
stitute for potash. It is not, however, a perfect substitute. 
Poverty in potash can be fully made good only by applying 
a sufficient quantity of a potash fertilizer. 

Nitrate of Soda is easily soluble, and it distributes itself 
immediately through the soil. 

Distribution of Nitrogen in the Grain and Straw of the 

Principal Cereals. 

Nitrogen per Two and One-Half Acres. 

GRAIN. 

Oats, Barley, Wheat, Rye, 

82.42 lbs. 86.61 lbs. 81.10 lbs. 67.44 lbs. 

Rape Seed, Peas, Vetches, Broad Beans, 

176.32 lbs. 117-03 lbs. 143-92 lbs. 181. 16 lbs. 

STRAW. 

Oats, Barley, Wheat, Rye, 

26.4 lbs. 26.4 lbs. 33-o6 lbs. 29-31 lbs. 

Rape Seed, Peas, Vetches, Broad Beans, 

29.75 lbs. 118.35 'bs. 112.40 lbs. 79-34 lbs. 



Food for Distribution of Nitrogen in the Principal Root Crops. 

Plants 
Nitrogen per Two and One-Half Acres. 

^""^ ROOTS. 

Sugarbeet, Beetroot, Swedes, Carrots, Potatoes, 

105.79 '^^- 13^-^5 lbs. 165.30 lbs. 14546 lbs. 112.40 lbs. 

Tubers. 
LEAF. 
Sugarbeet, Beetroot, Swedes, Carrots, Potatoes, 

52.89 lbs. 80.66 lbs. 55.1 lbs. 168.60 lbs. I5-Il lbs. 

Shaws. 

The figures in this table show how many pounds of 
Nitrogen are withdrawn from two and one-half acres of 
ground by an average harvest. The table shows clearly 
that the principal quantity of Nitrogen is always in that 
portion of the crop that is sold, only a small quantity of 
Nitrogen being found in the straw and leaves, the portion 
that is retained for use upon the land; consequently, unless 
a sufficient quantity of nitrogenous fertilizers be applied, the 
soil will very soon suffer from impoverishment of Nitrogen. 



POINTS FOR CONSIDERATION AS TO 

PRICES OF FARM PRODUCTS 

AND NITRATE PRICES. 

** I >ROM the farmer's point of view, a reduction in cot- 
ri ton and produce prices is to be deplored, but the 
point to be considered is whether abstention from 
the use of Nitrate is a wise way of meeting the situation. 
The utility of a fertilizer obviously depends upon its pro- 
ductivity, and as its productivity is not affected by its price, 
an increase in the latter justifies abandonment of the fer- 
tilizer only when its productivity ceases to be profitable. 
The profit to be reasonably expected from the use ot fer- 
tilizer, although somewhat less than when it was cheaper, 
is not so materially interfered with by any rise in price of 
Nitrate as to economically justify any substantial reduction 
in its consumption." 



GRADES OF HAY AND STRAW. 



Food for 
Plants 



THE following are the rules and regulations adopted 225 
by the Chicago Board of Trade for the inspection of 
hay and straw: 

Choice Timothy Hay: Shall be timothy not mixed with 
over one-twentieth of other grasses, properly cured, bright, 
natural color, sound and well baled. 

No. I Timothy Hay: Shall be timothy mixed with not 
more than one-eighth clover, red-top, and other tame grasses, 
properly cured, good color, sound and well baled. 

No. 2 Timothy Hay: Shall include all timothy not good 
enough for No. i, not over one-third mixed with other tame 
grasses, fair color, sound and well baled. 

No. 3 Timothy Hay: Shall include all hay not good 
enough for other grades, sound and well baled. 

No. I Clover Mixed Hay: Shall be timothy and clover 
mixed, with at least one-half timothy, good color, sound 
and well baled. 

No. 2 Clover Mixed Hay: Shall be timothy and clover 
mixed, with at least one-third timothy, reasonably sound 
and well baled. 

No. I Clover Hay: Shall be medium clover, not over 
one-twentieth other grasses, properly cured, sound and well 
baled. 

No. 2 Clover Hay: Shall be clover, sound, well baled, 
not good enough for No. i. 

No Grade Hay: Shall include threshed timothy and all 
hay badly cured, musty, stained, or in any way unsound. 

Choice Prairie Hay: Shall be upland hay, of bright color, 
well cured, sweet, sound and reasonably free from weeds. 

No. I Prairie Hay: Shall be upland, and may contain 
one-quarter midland, of good color, well cured, sweet, sound 
and reasonably free from weeds. 

No. 2 Prairie Hay: Shall be upland of fair color or 
midland of good color, well cured, sweet, sound and reason- 
ably free from weeds. 

No. 3 Prairie Hay: Shall be midland of fair color or 
slough of good color, well cured, sound and reasonably free 
from weeds. 

No. 4 Prairie Hay: Shall include all hay not good 
enough for other grades and not caked. 



226 



Food for ]sJq grade Prairie Hay: Shall include all hav not good 

Plants UC.UA J S 

enough tor other grades. 

No. I Straight Rye Straw: Shall be in large bales, clean, 
bright, long rye straw, pressed in bundles, sound and well 
baled. 

No. 2 Straight Rye Straw: Shall be in large bales, long 
rye straw, pressed in bundles, sound and well baled, not 
good enough for No. i. 

Tangled Rye Straw: Shall be reasonably clean rye straw, 
good color, sound and well baled. 

Wheat Straw: Shall be reasonably clean wheat straw, 
sound and well baled. 

Oat Straw: Shall be reasonably clean oat straw, sound 
and well baled. 

All certificates of inspection shall show the number of 
bales and grade in each car or lot inspected and plugged; 
and when for shipment the final inspection and plugging, 
in order to ascertain the sound condition of each bale, shall 
take place at the time of shipment. 

The fees for inspection shall be $3.00 per car, to be 
divided equally between the buyer and seller. 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR 
STAPLE CROPS. 

THE use of Nitrate of Soda alone is never recommended, 
except at the rate of not more than one hundred 
pounds to the acre. // may be thus safely and profitably 
used without other fertilizers. It may be applied at this rate 
as a Top-Dressing in the Spring of the year, as soon as 
vegetation begins to turn green; or, in other words, as soon 
as the crops begin new growth. At this rate very satisfac- 
tory results are usually obtained without the use of any 
other fertilizer, and the Soda residual, after the Nitrogenous 
Ammoniate Food of this chemical is used up by the plant, 
has a perceptible effect in sweetening sour land. 

When it is desired to use a larger amount than one 
hundred pounds per acre of Nitrate of Soda as a Top- 
Dressing, or in any other way, there must be present some 
form of Phosphatic and Potassic Fertilizer, and we recom- 
mend not less than two hundred and fifty pounds of either 



Acid Phosphate; or Thomas Phosphate; or fine ground Raw Food for 
Rock; or Peruvian Guano; and two hundred and fifty pounds ^^^"^^ 
of some high-grade Potash Salt, preferably the Sulphate. 227 
ji much larger amount than one hundred pounds of Nitrate 
per acre, when used alone on staple crops, is generally sure 
to give an unprofitable and unbalanced food ration to the 
plant. For Market Gardening Crops, however, somewhat 
more may be used alone. When the above amounts of 
Phosphatic and Potassic Fertilizers are used, as much as 
three hundred pounds of Nitrate of Soda may be applied 
with profit. In applying Nitrate in any ration it is desirable 
to mix it with an equal quantity of land plaster or fine, dry 
loam or sand. 

Generally, on the Pacific Coast, nitrate may be applied 
as a top-dressing after the heavy spring rains are over, but 
before crops attain much of a start. 

The statement fraudulently made that Nitrate of Soda 
is a stimulant, is false and misleading, as the Nitrogen 
(which is the essential element for the growth of all plants) 
is the same in Nitrate of Soda as it is in stable manure, 
and has the additional advantage that it is thirty times as 
abundant and of a hundred-fold greater immediate avail- 
ability. Its after effect is also marked in subsequent sea- 
sons, owing to the energy and increased size and feeding 
capacity which it imparts to the roots of plants. It also 
has a sweetening influence on sour lands, and hence is of 
direct as well as indirect benefit to the land. As a healthy 
plant tonic it has no equal, and owing to its complete 
digestibility as a plant-food there is absolutely no roughage 
or raw matter in it. 



Food for 
Plants 

228 



FERTILIZERS. 

Contributed by J. L. Hills, Vermont Experiment Station. 

Average cost of a pound of plant food in low, medium 
and high grade (Vermont, 1903.) 




Nitrogen 




Available 

TAospJioiic 

Acid 




Potash 



LOW GRADE 
MEPIDM " 
HIGH 



Food for 
Plants 

229 



FERTILIZERS. 

Contributed by J. L. Hills, Vermont Experiment Station. 

For ^30 there was purchased in Vermont, in 1903, in 
average high grade, medium grade and low grade fertihzers 
the following amounts of actual plant foods: 




Mtro^en 



LOWGRADE 
MEDIUM " 
HIGH " 



□ 



Available 
Pbosphoric 
Acid 





Food for 
Plants 

230 



PLAN FOR TOP-DRESSING EXPERIMENTS. 




The above simple plan for Top-Dressing Experiments 
has been in satisfactory use in Europe for several years. The 
plots may be of any size from a square 20 feet x 20 feet, 
and upv^^ards. The squares marked O are not fertilized, and 
serve as check plots. The Nitrate application recommended 
for a square 20 feet x 20 feet is one pound, which is equiv- 
alent to one hundred pounds to the acre. For further 
details, see General Directions for Staple Crops. 



Index. 

Abbasi White Cotton, Lower Egypt (Illus.) 2I2 

Acid Phosphate, Use of loi 

AdaptabiHty of the Onion to All Soils 33 

Alkaline Soil Necessary for Grass 74 

All Three Elements Indispensable 99 

Always Use Chemical Fertilizers for all Market Garden Purposes, 

Without Fail 54 

Ammoniates 146 

Ammoniates, Higher, Other 143 

Amount of Barbed Wire Required for Fences 194 

Amounts of Manure Produced by Farm Animals. From Bulletin 27, 

Cornell University, Agricultural Experimental Station 176 

Amounts of Nitrogen Phosphoric Acid and Potash Found Profitable 

for DiflFerent Crops Under Average Conditions per Acre (Taken 

Chiefly from New Jersey Experiment Station's Reports) 190 

Amount of Oil in Seeds 207 

Amount of Ration of Plant Food for One Tree 40 

Analyses of Commercial Fertilizing Materials 180, 181, 182 

Analyses of Farm Manures (Taken Chiefly from Reports of the New 

York, Massachusetts and Connecticut Experiment Stations 183 

Analyses of Fertilizing Materials in Farm Products; Analyses of Hay 

and Dry, Coarse Fodders 183, 184, 185, 186, 187 

Apples, Nitrate of Soda on 61 

Application of Fertilizer to Corn 21 1 

Application of Fertilizer to Cotton 213 

Apply and Mix Nitrate of Soda and Other Fertilizers, How to 19 

Applying Fertilizers for Potatoes 24 

Are the Farmers of Little Europe More Intelligent than Those of 

America ? 12 

Asparagus 19, 40, 41, 123 

Availability of Nitrogen in Various Forms 26 

Availability of Nitrogen 149 

Average Annual Rainfall in the United States 193 

Barley 56, 57 

Barley and Oats 15 

Basic Slag Phosphate, or Thomas Slag Phosphate Powder 57 

Beets 43 

Beets (Table) Grown on Nitrate, Ready for Market Sixteen Days 

Earlier 43 

Beets, Onions and Carrots 25 

Best Returns from Use of Nitrogen are Obtained when Applied to 

Good Soils Well Prepared for Crops, The 118 

Best Use of Nitrogen Requires an Abundance of Phosphoric Acid and 

Potash in the Soil, The 117 

Better Quality Resulted as Well as Saving in Time and Increase in 

Crop 42 



Brown Cotton (llUis.) 212 

Buckwheat 58 

Business Laws in Brief 197 

Cabbage 44 

Cabbages, Corn and Cauliflower 22 

Cantaloupes 52, 155 

Capacity of Cisterns for Each Ten Inches in Depth 206 

Carrying Capacity of a Freight Car (This Table is for Ten-Ton Cars) . 1 96 

Catch-Crops 57 

Cauliflower, Cabbages and Corn 22 

Celery 22, 45, 130 

Centenarians 192 

Certain Crops are Especially Benefited by Nitrate Nitrogen 119 

Character of Plant-Food Required by the Onion 36 

Chemical Manures, Nature of 54 

Chili Saltpetre or Nitrate of Soda 166 

Chloride (Muriate of Potash) 160 

Clark's Grass Cultivation, Nitrate of Soda as Used in 78 

Common Salt, Use of 38 

Comparative Availability of Nitrogen in Various Forms 26 

Comparison of Nitrate of Soda and Sulphate of Ammonia, Both With 

and Without Lime 152 

"Complete Fertilizers" and "Phosphates" the Most Expensive Plant 

Food 6 

Composition of Different Classes of Fertilizers 220 

Composition of Fertilizers in Different Grades 220, 221 

Conclusions Pertaining to Nitrate of Soda 149 

Corn 90, 209 

Corn, Sweet 46 

Corn, Cabbages and Cauliflower 22 

Cost of Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda 222 

Cost of One Pound of Plant Food in Different Grades of Fertilizers. . 221 

Cost of One Pound of Plant Food to Consumers 222 

Cost of Transportation of Fertilizers 108 

Cost of Transportation per Ton of Material 108 

Cotton 211 

Cotton Fertilizing 27 

Cotton and Fibre Plants 30 

Cotton-Seed Meal and Nitrate Compared on Wheat 55 

Cotton-Seed Meal Compared with Nitrate 55 

Cotton Seed and Nitrate of Soda 213 

Cows 176 

Crops Especially Benefited by Nitrate Nitrogen 119 

Crop Was Saved From Total Failure, How a 43 

Cucumbers 45, 130 

Cucumbers, Squashes and Melons 26 

Cultivation 37 

Culture of Corn 209 

Currants, Gooseberries, Raspberries 23 

Defects and Losses in the Use of Ordinary Ammoniates 100 



Directions and Formulas 56 

Distribution of Nitrogen in the Grain and Straw of the Principal 

Cereals, Nitrogen per Two and One-half Acres 223 

Distribution of Nitrogen in the Principal Root Crops, Nitrogen per 

Two and One-half Acres 224 

Dollar Spent in Nitrate Returned ;^2i.oo in Increased Crop 44 

Early Cabbage 43, 126 

Early Growth of Plants 103 

Early Lettuce 47 

Early Peas 49 

Early Potatoes 49, 1 32 

Early Table Beets 122 

Early Table Turnips 127 

Early Tomatoes 50, 124 

Economy in the Purchase of Fertilizers. Home Mixtures 169 

Economical and Profitable Practice 76 

Edible Value of Plant, Special Influence of Nitrate on loi 

Effect of Nitrate on Quality of Hay 73 

Egg Plant. 47 

Eminent Scientists Well Acquainted with Value of Nitrate 63 

Equivalent Quantity of Nitrate Food 105 

Estimating Measures 202 

Excess of Value of Hay Over Cost of Fertilizers 76 

Experiments in England, Wheat 55 

Experiments on Tobacco at the Kentucky Experiment Station 16 

Experiments, Other Details of 180 

Experiments, Summary of, on Farm Animals 180 

Experiments with Fertilizers on Cotton 28 

Experiments with Fertilizers on Sweet Potatoes 16 

Experiments with Fertilizers on Tomatoes 18 

Experiments with Forage Crops 139 

Experiments with Nitrate on Cotton, South Carolina, 1904 29 

Experiment with Nitrogen 148 

Extraordinary Returns on Celery 45 

Facts for Builders 204 

Farm Sewage Disposal 1 57 

Farm Values, Probable Stability of 143 

Farmers' Bulletin, No. 107. Editor, W. H. Beal. Prepared in the 

Office of Experiment Stations. A. C. True, Director. Page 7. . . 141 

Farmyard Manure Compared with Nitrate 55 

Farmyard Manure, Management of 157 

Farmyard Manure and Other Products are Valuable, Why 99 

Fertilizer Experiments on Meadow Land (Kentucky Agricultural 

Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 23, February, 1890) 188, 189 

Fertilizers per Vine, Omitting Nitrate Nitrogen (Illus.) 91 

Fertilizers per Vine, with Nitrate Nitrogen (Illus.) 93 

Fertilizers 147, 228, 229 

Fertilizers for Corn 209 

Fertilizers for Fruits (Bulletin 66, Hatch Experiment Station) 61 

Fertilizers for Garden Crops 150 



Fertilizers for Tobacco 214 

Fertilizers for Vegetables and Small Fruits 25 

Fertilizers in Use for Garden Crops, What 25 

Fertilizers to Buy, What 27 

Fertilizing 38 

Fertilizing Cotton 27 

Fertilizing Hay Crops . 217 

Figs 33 

Financial Profit from Use of Nitrate 75 

Food Necessary for Plants 3 

Food, Plant, Amount of Ration of. For One Tree 40 

Food, Plant, Character of. Required by the Onion 36 

Forage Crops, Experiments with 139 

Forage Crops, Nitrate of Soda for 17 

For Crops of Low Commercial Value 133 

For Melons, Cucumbers, and Squashes • 26 

Formulas 172 

Formulas and Directions for Mangolds 56 

For Wheat, the Best Form of Nitrogen 12 

Franklin's Words of Wisdom 199 

Free Use of the Harrow and Pulverizer 37 

From Bulletin No. 67. Maryland Experiment Station on the Culture 
and Handling of Tobacco in Maryland. H. J. Patterson, Director 

and Chemist. P rom Page 140 144 

From New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 172. The 
Use of Fertilizers; A Review of the Results of Experiments with 
Nitrate of Soda. Professor Edward B. Voorhees. The Use of 

Fertilizers 113 

Fruits 32 

Fruit Formula, General, per Acre 62 

Fruits Generally, Nitrate of Soda for 62 

Fruits, Nitrate on 103 

Functions of Nitrate, Unusual 100 

Gains from Use ot Nitrate of Soda 137 

Gain in Time Remarkable, Two Weeks in Advance 46 

Garden Crops, Fertilizers for 150 

Garden Crops, Market 22, I2I 

General Directions for Staple Crops 226 

General Fruit Formula per Acre 62 

General Points as to Methods of Application 155 

Good Results Due to Nitrate 143 

Gooseberries, Currants, Raspberries 23 

Grain and Hay 133 

Grains, Grasses, Root Crops, Pastures, Soiling Crops, Nitrate as a 

Top-Dressing for 54 

Grapes 92 

Grass 1 56 

Grass Growing for Profit 69 

Grasses, Grains, Root Crops, Pastures, Soiling Crops, Nitrate as a 

Top-Dressing for 54 



Greenhouse Plant Food 85 

Growth (Early) of Plants 100 

Guano, Phosphatic 168 

Harrow and Pulverizer, Free Use of the 37 

Hay 135 

Hay and Grain 133 

Hay, How Nitrate Improves the Quality of the 73 

Highland Experimental Farms (Illus.) 59 

Hints for Right Use of Nitrate 53 

Home-Mixing 145, 171 

Hops. A Record of Four Years' Experiments with Hops 89 

Horses 178 

How a Crop was Saved from Total Failure 43 

How All Ammoniates are, of Necessity, Nitrated, and Slowness of 

Process 103 

How all Crops Grow 54 

How and Where to Buy Fertilizing Materials 23 

How Careful Cultivation May Aid in the Profitable Use of Nitrate. . . 78 

How Deep in the Ground to Plant Corn 194 

How Grain Will Shrink 194 

How It Pays j^ 

How Money Crops Feed 98 

How Much Shall be Applied 135 

How Nitrate Benefits the Farmer 62 

How Nitrate Increases Wheat Crops 54 

How Nitrate Improves the Quality of the Hay 73 

How Nitrate May be Aided by Phosphoric Acid 102 

How Nitrate May be Supplemented by Potash 102 

How Nitrate Neutralizes Soil Acids and Sweetens the Soil 75 

How Nitrate Saves Time, Money and the Crop 103 

How Supplemented with Profit 102 

How'to Apply Nitrate 125 

How to Apply Nitrate of Soda to Wheat 14 

How to Apply Phosphatic Fertilizers 25 

How to Copyright a Book, Map, Chart, Etc 191 

How to Make Commercial Valuations 159 

How to Measure Corn in Crib, Hay in Mow, Etc 195 

How to Mix and Apply Nitrate of Soda and Other Fertilizers 19 

How to Preserve Eggs 202 

How to Remove the Smell of Paint from a Room 197 

How to Rent a Farm ; 1 99 

How to Save Humus 158 

How to Save Money on Fertilizers 8 

How to Top-Dress 104 

How to Treat Sunstroke 197 

How to Use Chemical Fertilizers to Advantage. Abstract of Lecture 

by Dr. Dyer 54 

Ideal Formula tor Oats 59 

Ideal Formula for Wheat 61 



Increase in Crop and Better Quality Resulted as Well as Saving in 

Time 42 

Increase of Crops from Same Quantity of Nitrogen from Different 

Sources 26 

Increased Yield on Turnips and Swedes 56 

Indispensable, Why Nitrate is 3 

Intrinsic Values of Ammoniates 100 

Kale 154 

Kind of Crop an Important Factor in Determining the Agricultural 

Value of Nitrogen, The 118 

Late Carrots (Illus.) 51 

Late Potatoes 50 

Late Spinach (Illus.) 52 

Lawns and Golf Links 96 

Length of Navigation of the Mississippi River 195 

Lettuce 154 

Lime and Thomas Slag, Use of 38 

Litter 156 

Losses and Defects in the Use of Ordinary Ammoniates 100 

Making Two Blades of Grass Grow Where One Blade Grew Before. . 71 

Management of Farmyard Manure 157 

Margin of Profit Greater 142 

Mangolds 56 

Manures 156 

Market Garden Crops 22, 121 

Market Gardening with Nitrate 41 

Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station. Bulletin No. 91, page 44, 
Table 7. Nitrate of Soda vs. No Nitrate of Soda, Applied on 

Wheat; Wheat Unfertilized in Fall 152 

Massachusetts Experiment Station 150 

Materials Used in Making Commercial or Chemical Manures 166 

Melons 88 

Melons, Cucumbers and Squashes 26 

Methods of Application 126, 127-131, 136, 141 

Methods of Practice 125, 128, 129, 132, 133 

Methods of Using Nitrate 123, 124 

Mix and Apply Nitrate of Soda and Other Fertilizers, How to 19 

Mixing, Home 145 

Mixing Raw Materials 162 

Modern Agriculture, Position of Nitrate in 63 

Moisture in Soil, Necessity of 36 

Money Crops, Results of Nitrate on 104 

Muriate of Potash (Chloride) 160 

Muskmelons 129 

Nature of Chemical Manures 54 

Natural Plant Food, Sources of 102 

Nearly Always Deficient, Nitrate 4 

Necessity of Moisture in Soil 3^ 

Neutralizes Soil Acids and Sweetens the Soil, How Nitrate 75 

Nitrate 4 



Nitrate, Its Uses Ought to Increase 66 

Nitrate on Fruits 103 

Nitrate for Experiments 15^ 

Nitrate Nearly Always Deficient 4 

Nitrate a Pre-digested Ammoniate 99 

Nitrate in Plant Nutrition, Part Played by 106 

Nitrate Compared with Farm-Yard Manure 55 

Nitrate Test at Kentucky Experiment Station 15 

Nitrate of Soda as Used in Clark's Grass Cultivation 78 

Nitrate and Cotton-Seed Meal Compared on Wheat 57 

Nitrate as a Top-Dressing for Grains, Grasses, Root Crops, Pastures, 

Soiling Crops 5+ 

Nitrate of Soda 3, 137, 159, 210 

Nitrate of Soda, Amount to Apply 138 

Nitrate of Soda, How Used 167 

Nitrate of Soda on Apples 61 

Nitrate of Soda for Forage Crops 17 

Nitrate of Soda or Chili Saltpetre 166 

Nitrate of Soda for Fruits Generally 62 

Nitrate of Soda Nitre in Fertilizing. (Bulletin 24, California State 

Mining Bureau, May, 1902.) By Dr. Gilbert E. Bailey 66 

Nitration or Nitrification 158 

Nitrogen Should Receive Special Attention 114 

Number of Nails and Tacks per Pound 203 

Number of Years Seeds Retain Their Vitality 193 

Number Bricks Required to Construct any Building (Reckoning Seven 

Bricks to Each Superficial Foot) 204 

Nursery Stock 87 

Oats 55. 58 

Oats, Ideal Formula 59 

Of General Interest 19^ 

Onions 48 

Onion, Adaptability of the, to All Soils 33 

On Uncultivated Clay Loam 189 

On Uncultivated Light or Medium Soils 189 

On Uncultivated Pasture Land 189 

On What Crops Nitrate Should be Used 24 

Orange Groves 86, no 

Other Ammoniates Higher 143 

Part Played by Nitrate in Plant Nutrition 106 

Pastures, Soiling Crops, Root Crops, Grains, Grasses, Nitrate as a 

Top-Dressing for 54 

Peaches 61 

Peppers 13^^ 

Philosophical Facts 200 

Phosphates 147 

Phosphates, Potashes 100, 147 

"Phosphates" and "Complete Fertilizers" the Most Expensive Plant 

Food 6 

Phosphoric Acid 4 



Phosphatic Guano i68 

Phosphoric Acid and Potash Differ from Nitrogen 1 16 

Phosphoric Acid, How Nitrate May be Aided by 102 

Pioneer Farmers' Wasteful Methods 6j 

Plan for Top-Dressing Experiments 230 

Plant Food Needs of Crops 105 

Position of Nitrate in Modern Agriculture 63 

Potashes 4, 1 47 

Potashes, Phosphates 100, 147 

Potash and Phosphoric Acid Differ From Nitrogen 116 

Potatoes 49,154 

Potatoes, Sweet 81 

Potatoes, How to Apply to 20 

Potatoes, Applying Fertilizers for 24 

Practical Conclusions 76 

Practical Suggestions as a Result of Experiments, i. For Crops of 

High Commercial Value 121 

Pre-digested Ammoniate, Nitrate a 99 

Price of Farm Products, Rise in 142 

Principal Elements, Nitrated Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, Potash. ... 98 

Probable Stability of Farm Values 143 

Profit, Margin of 1 42 

Profits from Use of Fertilizers 1 20 

Profitable and Economical Practice 76 

Profitable Fertilization of Grapes. Summary of Experiments of Prof. 
Paul Wagner, Director of Darmstadt Agricultural Experiment 

Station, Darmstadt, Germany 94 

Profitable Onion Cultivation 33 

Profitable Use of Nitrates, How Careful Cultivation May Aid in the. . 78 

Pulverizer and Harrow, The Use of the 37 

Purdue University, Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Lafay- 
ette, Ind., C. R. Plumb, Director. Bulletin No. 84.) Growing 

Lettuce With Chemical Fertilizers. By Prof. William Stuart. . . . 149 

Quantity (Equivalent) of Nitrate Food 105 

Quantities Required and Time to Apply 3^ 

Raspberries, Currants, Gooseberries 23 

Raw Materials, Mixing 162 

Ready for Market Sixteen Days Earlier, Table Beets Grown on 

Nitrate 43 

Relative Value of Different Foods for Stock 2d6 

Results (Good) Due to Nitrate 143 

Results in New York 219 

Results of Nitrate on Money Crops 104 

Results of Saving Small Amounts of Money 207 

Results on Cotton Grown in Lower Egyp t 212 

Result, Slight Added Cost per Acre and per Ton of Fertilizer 143 

Results in an Unfavorable Season with Low Prices for Prod'icts . ... 41 

Returns on Celery Extraordinary 45 

Rise in Price of Farm Products 142 



Root Crops, Pastures, Soiling Crops, Grains, Grasses, Nitrate as a 54 

Top-Dressing for 

Rotation on Crops 191 

Rules for Business Farmers 196 

Ryt^ 59. 139 

Save Humus, How to 158 

Save Money on Fertilizers, How to 8 

Savings Bank Compound Interest Table, Showing the Amount of ^i. 

From One Year to Fifteen Years, With Compound Interest Added 

Semi-Annually, at Different Rates 208 

Saving in Time and Increase in Crop, as Well as Better Quality 

Resulted 42 

Sewage (Farm) Disposal 157 

Sheep 178 

Sizes of Boxes for Different Measures 207 

Slight Added Cost Per Acre and Per Ton of Fertilizer, Result 143 

Small Fruits 84 

Small Fruits and Vegetables, Fertilizers for 25 

Snap Beans 42 

Sodas 147 

Soiling Crops 84 

Soiling Crops, Root Crops, Pastures, Grasses, Grains, Nitrate as a 

Top Dressing for 54 

Some American Rotations 191 

Some Practical Hints Regarding Nitrate 153 

Sources of Natural Plant Food 102 

South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. From Bulletin No. 

56 147 

Special Crops 24 

Special Functions of Plant Food 100 

Special Influence of Nitrate on Edible Value of Plant loi 

Spinach 151 

Spirits of Turpentine a Valuable Remedy 198 

Squashes, Cucumbers and Melons 26 

Stable Manure and Artificial Fertilizer Upon Fruit Trees 39 

Stability (Probable) of Farm Values 143 

Strawberries 22, 83, ill 

Strength of Ice of Different Thickness 207 

Sugar Beets 83 

Sugar Cane 82 

Suggestions for Top-Dressing Crops 107 

Sulphate of Ammonia 1 59 

Sulphate of Potash 1 59 

Summary of Increased Yields. From Application of One Hundred 

Pounds Per Acre of Nitrate of Soda 142 

Surveyor's Measure 206 

Sweet Corn 46, 128 

Sweet Potatoes 81, 132 

Sweetens the Soil and Neutralizes Soil Acids, How Nitrate 75 

Swine 179 



Table Beets Grown on Nitrate Ready for Market i6 Days Earlier 43 

Table of Analyses and Guarantees 173 

Table, Showing the Number of Pounds of Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid 
and Potash Withdrawn Per Acre by an Average Crop. (From 
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Experiment Stations' 

Reports 187 

Table Showing the Number of Pounds of Nitrogen, Phosphoric Acid 
and Potash Withdrawn Per Acre by an Average Crop. (Con- 
tinued) 188 

Table Showing Prices of Nitrate of Soda on the Ammoniate Basis. 
Figured on Basis of 380 Pounds Ammonia in One Ton of Nitrate 

of Soda 112 

Tabulated General Summary 222 

Terms Used in Discussing Fertilizers 146 

The Amount to Apply 138 

The Alfalfa, Cow- Pea and Clover Question 107 

The Best Form of Nitrogen for Wheat 12 

The Best Use of Nitrogen Requires an Abundance of Phosphoric 

Acid and Potash in the Soil 117 

The Great Canals of the World 1 95 

The Kind of Crop an Important Factor in Determining the Agricul- 
tural Value of the Nitrogen 118 

The Longest and Greatest Rivers in the World 203 

The Most Expensive Plant Food, "Phosphates" and "Complete Fer- 
tilizers " 6 

The Quality of Manure and Fertilizers 99 

The Use of Nitrogenous Fertilizers on Vegetables 154 

The Unit System 166 

The Various Potash Salts and Their Composition 190 

Thomas Slag and Lime, Use of 38 

Time at Which Money Doubles at Interest 208 

Time to Apply and Quantities Required 33 

Time Required for Digesting Food 198 

Time Required for the Complete Exhaustion of Available Fertilizing 
Materials, and the Amounts of Each Remaining in the Soil During 
a Period of Seven Years. (From Scottish Estimates.) On Uncul- 
tivated Clay Loam 189 

Tobacco 1 6, 80, 1 44 

Tomatoes 18, 79, 154 

Top-Dress, How To 104 

Top-Dressings 64, 103 

Top-Dressing Experiments •. 104 

Top-Dressing Grass Lands 76 

Top-Dressings of Nitrate of Soda 120 

Top-Dressing for Grains, Grasses, Root Crops, Pastures, Soiling 

Crops, Nitrate as a 54 

Turnips and Swedes 56 

Two Good Home Mixtures 176 

University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. Timely Hints 

for Farmers, No. 31. Prof. W. W. Skinner 148 



Unusual Functions of Nitrate lOO 

Use of Acid Phosphate lOl 

Use of Common Salt , 38 

Use of Legumes 107 

Use of Thomas Phosphate Powder and of Lime 38 

Use Ought to Increase 66 

Valuation 1/4 

Value of Nitrate, Eminent Scientists Well Acquainted With It 63 

Vegetables and Small Fruits, Fertilizers for 25 

Wasteful Methods Pioneer Farmers 63 

Weight of a Cubic Foot of Earth, Stone, Metal, Etc 205 

Weights and Measures for Cooks, Etc 206 

What a Deed to a Farm in Many States Includes 205 

What Crops Take Out of Soils 105 

What Fertilizers to Buy 27 

What Food Is 98 

What Fertilizers to Use for Garden Crops 25 

What Housekeepers Should Remember 201 

What Machinery Accomplishes 192 

What Nitrate Has Done for Crops 143 

What Nitrate is in Agriculture ' 62 

What Nitrate Looks Like; Its Chemical Properties 62 

What Percentage of Water Does Hay Lose During Storage ? 219 

What was Shown by the Analyses 172 

Wheat .55, 60, 137, 147 

Wheat and Oats, Rye and Barley. (Bulletin 44, Georgia Agricultural 

Experiment Station.) 57 

Wheat Crops, How Nitrate Increases 54 

Wheat, Cotton-Seed Meal and Nitrate Compared on 55 

Wheat Experiments in England 55 

Wheat, How to Apply Nitrate of Soda to 14 

When to Apply Nitrate 38 

Where It is Found 63 

Where and How to Buy Fertilizing Materials 23 

Why Farmyard Manure and Other Products are Valuable 99 

Why Nitrate is Indispensable 3 

Yield of Cured Hay Under Different Rates of Nitrogenous Fertilization. 72 
Yield of Vine Fertilized Omitting Nitrate Nitrogen, 1.13 lbs. of 

Grapes (Illus.) 95 

Yield of Vine Fertilized with Nitrate Ration, 5.45 lbs of Grapes 

(Illus.) ^ 97 

Yield of Forage Crops Per Acre 140 




The McWhorter Manufacturing Company 
Riverton, New Jersey 

The above machine is recommended for Top-Dressing Nitrate, 
and has been found to do excellent work in practical trials. 

For specific information, write to the above address. 



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HARRIS AND MYERS 









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NEW EDITION WITH 
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 



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EDITED AND PUBLISHED BT 

William S. Myers, f. c. s., Director 

Nitrate of Soda Propaganda 

Late of New Jersey State Affricultural CoUese 

12-16 JOHN STREET, NEW YORK 



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